Our Suffering Only Makes Us Stronger
by superninjaturtle
Summary: Oh how he wished for this mission to be over. He was a ninja and knew that this was the life of a ninja. But right now all he wanted was a hot meal and a soft bed, or maybe a certain raven haired shinobi. rated M for rape and romance. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_A/N well hello people. I started this story because I got sick of people screwing up on spelling and how they wrote when they had such good storylines that I decided to write my own Naruto/Sasuke story. Yay! Well I need reviews on this badly since my last story got none. Please r/r! Oh and constructive criticism is very welcome_.

CH.1

_Naruto watched from a distance as the other kids ate their lunches talking and laughing happily. He was always the loner. The idiotic freak with whiskers, unruly hair and frighteningly bright blue eyes. Yes, they all hated him. All of them hated him for no damn reason. He had always tried to cover up the pain, never show his true feelings, because he was a ninja. Well he wanted to be. For the last three years he had never passed the graduation test. He almost didn't want to. But at least this year he would try a little harder. This was his year. He was twelve now and nothing would stop him. He was going to do it if it was the last thing he did. _

Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped awake. His past was not the most pleasant thing to dream of. Well at least it wasn't as bad as last time when he was dreaming of the day Haku died. Naruto shuddered and realized a moment too late the hand on his shoulder belonged too his best friend, rival, and oddly enough his first real crush, Uchiha Sasuke.

The mission was the farthest from his mind when he looked into Sasuke's black eyes. They were blank and expressionless as usual but his hand was slightly shaking. The team had had very little time to rest in the three months that they had been on the move. It was Naruto's shift to watch. Oh how he wished for this mission to be over. He was a ninja and knew that this was the life of a ninja. But right now all he wanted was a hot meal and a soft bed, or maybe a certain raven haired shinobi. But as it was his turn to watch and there was still three more weeks of this torment to endure.

Sasuke watched his teammate with empathy as he stood tiredly and walked to the tree he himself had just vacated. It overlooked the entire campsite from the limb Naruto climbed to, to tired to waste any chakra.

Sasuke had spent the last three years trying to atone for his betrayal. Not for the village, but for Naruto. He had trusted Sasuke with his friendship, but he had killed that trust and then tried to kill Naruto. Yes he still hated himself for it, but Naruto didn't. When he had returned to the village after killing Orochimaru (I don't know if that's spelled right.) he had been given a full pardon. And Naruto had greeted him with a punch in the face. But after that he had been forgiven. Fully and wholly, Naruto had forgiven him. Sasuke had still often wondered how and why Naruto had done it. He was the only one even now who fully trusted him. Even Tsunade had been wary of making him a jounin let alone ANBU. While Sasuke's mind traveled his eyes followed, until they rested on Naruto.

Naruto watched the forest around him with a keen but tired eye. Then his gaze drifted. He looked at each of the forms of his teammates. Neji Hyuuga, TenTen, the weapons expert, Sakura, the medic, and Sasuke, his own partner, and the last surviving Uchiha, excluding his brother, the treacherous traitor to Konoha and his own family. They had all grown. Neji, though he was still an exceptional shinobi, showing no emotion and having composure at all times, had become more compassionate and forgiving. TenTen was still as smart and logical as ever, but she had become even more professional and had grown out of the small crush on Neji. Sakura had become the best medic nin in Konoha excluding Tsunade. And Sasuke…Sasuke had become Naruto's friend. His best friend, who no longer hated how strong Naruto had gotten, and would do anything for him. And of course there was Naruto. He was no longer Konoha's number-one hyperactive-knucklehead ninja, that was Konohamaru's job. He was now slowly gaining the respect he deserved. Even though Neji was the captain for this ANBU squad, when he needed help he came to Naruto, who was his second in command.

Naruto was brought back when he felt a sudden rush of chakra. There was someone coming for them. It may have been enemy ninja or perhaps ally, but Naruto dropped silently to the ground to wake Neji from his much needed sleep.

_A/N Well there you go. Cliffhanger! I love it don't you. Well this is my second fanfic but I like this one best. So I deleted the other one because I got no reviews. Now I'll write three chapters and if I don't get any reviews by then I won't update till I do. KK! _


	2. Chapter 2

_Well I'm happy now! I finally got review. Thank you all very much and enjoy the next chapter! (Oh and I forgot the disclaimer last time but no I don't own Naruto tear)_

Ch2

Blond hair swayed in the wind as three figures abruptly approached the group of unknown ninja. Temari looked to each of her brothers who walked beside her. The chakra felt familiar but she couldn't place it. Their chakra was hidden too well. There were four of them. From the way the group was protected by traps they had to assume they were high-level ninja. Of course the traps were nothing to them. They were easily surpassed and the camp was infiltrated by the Kazekage's two older siblings. Gaara had stayed behind for a moment. But Temari didn't know why. He had in fact felt a fifth chakra point and knew exactly who it belonged to.

Gaara smirked to himself. Naruto was in fact in his country and was no doubt on some important mission for the Hokage. He wanted to know what mission the Hokage Tsunade would send anbu to execute. But more importantly who they were going to assassinate in his country. He knew well enough that the black ops were not sent in if there was no one to kill. And if he was not told, there had to be some very important reason why not.

Naruto stood in his watch post waiting. He had woken up Neji only moments before, who had told him to wait in his post. There were three of them but they had split up a moment ago. One was heading towards him easily avoiding the traps he had set up that afternoon. The ninja heading toward him was very high level. Naruto cringed at the amount of chakra this person had. It was almost as much as him. And what was worse, he was so confident that he didn't feel the need to conceal his chakra. Of course Naruto always did, but that was because he was anbu.

He suddenly saw a flash of red and was nearly knocked of the branch as this person moved to occupy the branch beside him. He recognized the redheaded gourd-carrying ninja easily and let out a sigh.

"Damn-it Gaara! Did you have to do that?" Naruto said through his anbu mask. It was a fox for the most obvious reasons.

Gaara smirked at him and let a small "hn" escape his lips.

"I'm glad you're amused. But under these circumstances that was totally uncalled for!" Naruto glared at Gaara with fierce blue eyes that shown through his mask even in the dull light of the crescent moon. But his glare eased into a laugh and he pulled an unsuspecting Gaara a tight, friendly hug. Gaara stiffened but didn't push away. He knew he should've expected this after not seeing Naruto for six months. As Naruto let him go his eyes hardened.

"The others are Temari-chan and Kankuro-san, am I correct?"

Gaara nodded with another "hn".

"Come," Naruto said simply.

A/N _well there you go! Number 2 is done. I know it was a bit short but I am very slow at typing. I'm very sorry. But he next chapter should be up very soon._


	3. Chapter 3

Again thanks for the reviews! I'm very happy you all like it. I'll try to update faster next time.

**Disclaimer- **unfortunately I don't own Naruto.

Ch 3

Naruto jumped down from the tree with ease and removed his fox mask. Gaara looked him over with interest. Naruto's hair was now shoulder length. It had grown a lot since the last time he had seen him. Naruto had it pulled back in a loose tail to keep it from his face and out of the way.

Gaara followed silently. And would have stayed that way if Naruto hadn't waited to walk beside him. Naruto smirked at the suspicious glance Gaara gave him. Suddenly Gaara found himself with an arm tightly attached to his shoulder. He stiffened and glared at Naruto who just laughed.

As Temari entered the camp with Kankuro at her heels her eyes met the silver eyes of a Hyuga. They were behind the unmistakable mask of an anbu operative. The hawk mask was painted in white and red with thin purple stripes on the cheeks.

"Temari-dono. Of the sand village." The Hyuga nodded in recognition, a gesture she mimicked.

"Hyuga Neji-san." She revealed that she knew his identity easily enough.

"Kankuro-san"

"Hyuga huh…captain of team 11 am I right?"

Neji gave a curt nod ignoring the rudeness of the sand nin.

Each of the shinobi behind Neji nodded at the blond kunoichi before them. Temari recognized all of them. The one with a cat mask with pink hair and sharp green eyes was Haruno Sakura, the best medic Nin in Konoha besides Tsunade herself. The one with the eagle mask with two buns protruding from her head was the unmistakable weapons expert, TenTen. And lastly was the one in the wolf mask. His black hair protruded unnaturally from behind his mask. His eyes were piercingly dark, and she saw them even from the shadows he stood in. His stoic stance mirrored that of the Hyuga genius. Yes she knew him, just from the way he stood. He was alert and so calm. He was Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke, the last of his clan, excluding his murderous brother. And even though he had vowed to kill his brother, he had shared his fate as a traitor to his own village.

Gaara kept walking with Naruto attached to him. As they reached the camp a second later, every shinobi looked their way. In the little light the crescent moon provided through the dense forest Naruto saw the looks of shock on the faces of Kankuro, TenTen, and Sakura. Neji looked unfazed at the spectacle; while Sasuke tried to put up the same front he couldn't hide the glint of furious jealousy in his eyes for a second before he found his composure. Though, Gaara was the only one who noticed this. Temari was the only one who had seen these antics before. Although it did make sense that Naruto was the only one not even fazed by the glares Gaara dished out. And Naruto was the only one who could get away with it and not be seriously injured.

Naruto saw all this and simply laughed out, "So Gaara-kun what brings you to this desolate corner of wind. I mean you are Kazekage of sand, and I don't think you'd be out here unless it was really important. Am I right Temari-chan?"

Her glare nearly rivaled that of Sasuke. But she answered his question grudgingly. "As a matter of fact you're the reason we are out here in this god-forsaken forest."

"Huh?" Sakura gave a confused look.

"Some of sand's anbu spotted you about three days ago." Temari gave her a look that suggested she was on the edge of an outburst but she quickly suppressed it.

"Damn…we're getting sloppy!" Naruto said with a growl.

He knew the rest of his team was starting to wear out with the intenseness of the mission. The mission was to retrieve or kill a missing Nin of leaf village. He was anbu. Yet another genius ninja. In fact he had been on Shikamaru's team, a genius himself and the captain of anbu team 13.

The ninja went by the name Souri Hakure. He had left after going on a killing rampage, then using his unique expertise to get out of the village successfully. The moment he had left the village Tsunade had summoned the team. She had given them a deadline of one month to catch him. Under normal circumstances they would've scoffed at this and told her they'd have him in three days at the most. But these weren't normal circumstances. He had successfully eluded them for three months and they were tiring.

A/N-Well I hope you like it! I know, I know! It's still short. But I can't help that. it's just easier. But anyways, please review. Oh and happy new years!


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time but I have a good excuse. _

Anyways I don't own Naruto or you would have never known about it.

Ch4

"So a missing nin huh?" Kankuro smirked. "How long have you been out here? Three months? How long you got?" his eyes switched from Naruto, who he knew best of the group, to Neji, who was the team leader.

"We have another three weeks." Naruto said grudgingly. He was already tired of this mission, and it showed.

"Well…what's the problem? Who is this shinobi who could get the best of Uzumaki Naruto?" Temari looked highly amused. She smirked at the look she got in return.

"His name is Souri Hakure and he didn't get the best of me." Naruto scowled indignantly. "At least not yet," he grumbled almost inaudibly. Unfortunately for Naruto, he was in a camp with fellow ninja. Every one of them heard the mumbled remark with irritation.

Naruto sat down on his sleeping bag lounging back. His eyes burned with the effort to keep them opened, but he resisted the urge to let them slide shut. He bent his knees and put his hands behind his head leisurely relaxing. He suddenly felt that he no longer needed to be on guard.

Naruto knew he was being watched. He felt it. But he couldn't tell who it was that was watching him. It almost unnerved him.

Sasuke watched Naruto unhappily. He was only a few feet away. He could have just reached out a hand and slid it up Naruto's thigh. He could have crawled over to Naruto in that prone position and slid between his legs, running his hands over that lithe form, pulling off that tantalizingly skin tight black sleeveless shirt, revealing the perfectly toned albeit thin chest…No! He had to calm himself before his pants tightened any more. His eyes averted to Naruto's who was scanning the group uneasily. Just as he saw Naruto's head start to turn his eyes switched to the now sitting Kazekage. Gaara had his eyes trained on his brother who was explaining to the rest of the team that he would keep the next watch. Gaara glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, with a look that gave away no emotion. What was going through his head? And why was there now a smirk on his face? Sasuke's midnight black eyes twitched before they narrowed into a glare. He reverted his gaze to glance at Neji who locked eyes with him. Neji had removed his mask and had a cold expressionless mask replacing it. His eyes were the icy silver like always, but there was something else in his eyes. Amusement? Perhaps. Sasuke couldn't tell. His eyes then went to TenTen, then to Temari, then Kankuro, then to Sakura, and back to Naruto. Naruto gave him an oddly piercing look. It looked odd on him, though slightly alluring.

Then Naruto shifted so that he was almost on his side but was propped up by an elbow with his knees bent and opened toward Sasuke. Naruto had no idea the images running in Sasuke's mind. The hand that worked its way over those slim hips, that lean stomach, those powerful thighs, that very large cock…

_No! _He couldn't. Not now. But it was too late he could feel his pants start to tighten and his breathing start to hasten, only slightly. Why did this have to happen now? He had to go…he had to go now! If he wasn't out of sight soon they would notice the growing bulge in the tightening black pants. But he couldn't find an opening for him to leave. Instead he pulled his knees to his chest and stared at the ground in front of him.

Sasuke still felt as if he was being watched but he made no move to find who out it was. He didn't really care.

If he had known he would have cared. He would have cared very much.

Ocean blue eyes shown brightly even in the light of the crescent moon as it floated just above the horizon signaling the two hours just before the sun rose. They were on the dark figure that sat curled on his sleeping bag. He rocked just lightly, unknowingly. Naruto watched the object of his desires as he gave the slightest of twitches. He had felt the eyes on him but there was no indication that he knew who was staring at him. But Naruto could do nothing but stare. He felt so drawn to the Uchiha prodigy. The blonde suddenly felt eyes on himself. He took this as his cue.

He sat up stealing a glance at each person in the group that surrounded him. Kankuro had taken up his post in the tree and was facing the opposite direction. Out of the rest of them, the only ones with sharp enough eyes to see through the darkness that was now even thicker were Gaara, Sasuke, Neji and himself. He knew it wasn't Sasuke. And Neji was already asleep. So all that was left was Gaara. He looked at Gaara and sure enough he saw those jade green eyes staring strait back into sapphire blue.

Naruto had no idea why Gaara was staring at him, but it sent a chill down his spine. Naruto averted his glance and started to get into his sleeping bag. He turned his back to Gaara and soon enough after a few minutes he felt the eyes leave his back.

Sasuke followed suit after a few minutes and was asleep shortly after.

A/N I am so sorry I took sooo long to update. I sorta haven't been able to get on the computer due to some unwanted homework assignments. Well please read and review! 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: well…I did it again. I took my sweet time. But I promise to have the next one out sooner. But I do have a report to write tomorrow. I hate my English teacher.

Oh and there is a small lemon in this one just to warn you.

Ch.5

Sasuke felt the slightly smaller form beneath him again. He had had this dream many times before on many, many cold, lonely nights.

The tanned skin was as slick with sweat as his own pale skin. The smell was intoxicating. His hips were straddling those of one very feisty blond. He bent his head so his breath caressed those soft, luscious lips. He brushed his lips gently against them savoring the feel. The blond beneath him shuddered at the feel. His hips rocked against those of his lover. A moan slipped from Naruto's perfect lips and his back arched pushing further against Sasuke's erection. Sasuke groaned as their groins met in a heated friction that made Naruto crush his lips against Sasuke's with serious need.

Sasuke's hands wandered down without real thought as Naruto's tongue slid across his bottom lip teasingly. He felt Naruto's muscles ripple as his hands ran over perfectly golden skin. They ran down his chest, teasing Naruto's pert nipples, then down his flat stomach, running up a little then going back down lightly. They drifted down to his hips gripping tightly as he pressed their groins together once again. Both let out a pleasured moan at the contact, at feeling the other's erection against his own.

He suddenly felt a grip on his own wrists and a force pushed him so that he was under Naruto. His hands were suddenly pinned above his head and he felt weak against the attack. One of Naruto's hands left his own and slowly snaked down his body, stopping only once, to caress and tease and flick at his nipple. Naruto's lips left his to follow his hands down Sasuke's body. As his hand went farther so did his lips as that hot tongue licked at his nipple. He gave a gentle nibble as Sasuke gave a small whimper. Naruto was teasing him. It was not that he didn't like it, but that he felt the need to be touched and though he was on the bottom, he desperately wanted to be fucked. He needed release. Bad. Naruto's mouth went down nibbling, licking and nipping at the creamy, smooth skin beneath him, until he came to the dark curls of Sasuke's pubic hair. He gave a small smirk as his hands brushed lightly against Sasuke's very large, very erect penis. Sasuke bucked his hips at every small tease of Naruto's nimble fingers, desperate for it to stop, for it to become solid instead of the hand staying barely in reach, barely touching, just enough for him to feel the coolness of those perfect, strong hand. When this imaginary Naruto finally gave Sasuke what he wanted, it wasn't with his hands.

His tongue brushed Sasuke's cock gently at first but at the noises Sasuke made and the bucking of his hips, Naruto let the hands that were now on Sasuke's stomach go as they immediately tangled themselves in his hair. His own hands went to Sasuke's hips as his mouth enclosed over that beautifully hard organ. His tongue again teased Sasuke as he realized that the torment wasn't over yet. He threw his head back and let out a whisper. He knew what Naruto wanted. They had played this game more that once.

"Please. More…I want…more," he begged huskily in that lust filled voice. He had played the uke part more than once in these fantasies. He knew how to play it well. "Please! gungh!" he groaned out as Naruto started to scrape his teeth gently across Sasuke. He gasped at Naruto gave a groan of his own, sending vibrations through him, making him shudder.

Sasuke's eyes snapped opened as he felt the cold autumn air return to his face. Though strangely the rest of his body was warm.

_Shit! _He thought as he felt another body against him. The blonde hair on his shoulder was a dead give-away. Thankfully he was on his stomach so that the erection went unnoticed by Naruto, who had somehow gotten close enough to cling to him in his sleep. It was odd. Naruto usually did move like this unless he dreamt and all of them knew that that was usually a disastrous occurrence that consisted of plenty of screaming, swinging of fists, and very much cursing at the animated blond. But there was none as Naruto clung to him with his arm slung over Sasuke's lower back and the other fisted in his black under shirt that belonged to the uniform the anbu wore. Sasuke turned his head to look into Naruto's face. His eyes softened to the look on his face. It was calm and innocent, almost like when they were kids. Though, the thing that would have made it exactly like when they were kids would have been those clear-as-day blue eyes. They were still clear-as-day and quite blue. But they lacked the innocence, the ignorance that made him…well…Naruto. Naruto was no longer the loudmouthed idiot that didn't have a serious bone in his body. He was still quite kind and had that goofy smile. But it never fully reached his eyes and it was more for the appearance. He was never really sincere anymore.

Sasuke suddenly noticed the luscious lips that were parted slightly in his sleep. They were so close to his skin. The warm even breath that Naruto emanated was brushing over his shoulder and into is neck. He then noticed just how much he had moved in his sleep. They were closer to the place Naruto had chosen the previous night than the place he had chosen. He was suddenly also painfully aware of the absent moon in the twilight hours of the morning. This was exactly the time when his team would be getting up.

His eyes would not, could not leave those perfectly pouting lips.

Naruto always woke up gradually, without conscious thought. He started with his feelings. And as the feeling of warmth was felt he knew something was not as it was when he had gone to sleep the night before. He felt cloth clenched in his left fist and something that radiated heat against the front of his body and under his right arm.

Next came his sense of smell. It was musky but sweet. It smelt like sweat and vanilla. It smelt oddly intoxicating.

Then came the hearing. He heard his own even breathing mingling with the calm breath of another. Then came his conscious thoughts. The sun hadn't risen yet. All he saw was darkness through his closed eyelids. And that meant that there wasn't likely to be anyone awake save Gaara who was an insomniac and Kankuro who had taken last nights watch, though Temari might have traded his watch. He hadn't been paying much attention last night to the rest of the ninja in the camp. He had been too busy watching Sasuke.

He felt a sudden shudder from the person whom he clung to. As he realized that the warmth did indeed come from a person, his mind worked furiously to figure out who it was. How long had he been like this? And who was he clinging to?

Naruto smirked.

"Well Sasuke, I never thought we'd wake up like this. This is a bit awkward, don't you think?" he said before opening his eyes. This got a jump and he knew that a glare was now directed at him.

A/N: well at least I finished it. Thank you all for being patient cause I'm really sorry. Well unfortunately there is the not so small issue of homework…again. Blame the teachers! It's not my fault!


	6. Chapter 6

Ch6

A/N thank you all for the great reviews! The only bad thing anyone had to say about it was how long it took me to update and how short the chapters are. I'm very grateful but I would like some constructive criticism if anyone has any!

But anyways I of course don't own Naruto or there would be a lot of gay sex and it would not be aloud to be aired on TV.

That's an obvious warning for those who aren't old enough for that kind of thing.

Ch.6

Naruto's clear-as-day, blue eyes opened slowly as he smirked fighting to keep the blush from his face. "Why didn't you wake me?" his voice was slightly amused as his grip on Sasuke loosened.

Even through the darkness Sasuke could see the fakeness of that smirk. It was covering something, though what he had no clue. Only his years upon years of training his facial muscles to remain perfectly stoic and emotionless made his blush at this closeness go unseen.

With every moment he was more aware of his bodies growing need. His problem was not going to go away on its own.

Naruto saw something flicker across those mysteriously black eyes. If he hadn't known the raven for as long as he had he wouldn't have caught it. It was…it was…anxiety, need and perhaps a bit of worry? It was only there for a moment but Naruto had caught it and Sasuke knew it.

"I didn't wake you up dobe, cause you haven't been sleeping good for a long time. I thought you needed the sleep." He could still see those eyes, those crystal blue eyes, in the darkness and the look in them unnerved him. They were gauging, and observant. And he suddenly realized exactly what Sasuke had before he had woken. They were closer to Naruto's first sleep site. They were tangled in mostly Naruto's sleeping bag, though Sasuke's was still there, partly wrapped around Naruto's legs.

They both suddenly noticed the tickle down their spine at the feeling of being watched. Naruto busied himself in getting untangled from the sleeping bags, succeeding in getting halfway up and tripping over the black sack that had yet to dislodge from around his ankles. He landed face first in the dirt with a less than dignified "eep!" though it was barely heard and was followed almost instantly by an "oof!"

Sasuke was a bit more graceful and gave a small smile. A real one for the first time in a very long time. He didn't even know it grazed his lips until he saw the look in Gaara's eyes, which had been watching them. It had been far too long since he had seen this side of Naruto and it gave him a very small sense of joy. Naruto was never clumsy anymore. He had become quite agile actually. It was like it had all been an act, a routine to hide his true self, and it scared the young Uchiha. How long had he kept it up? He had wondered this for a long time. He had never known why Naruto had done it, or why he had kept doing it. Even in getting to know Naruto better in the past few years as closer friends than most. They would risk their lives for each other and they both knew it, but Naruto had never told Sasuke why he had hid himself.

When Sasuke had escaped Orochimaru, or in better terms killed him because he wouldn't let him leave, he had found himself in konoha once again. He had had a bruised jaw but he knew he had deserved it. it hadn't surprised him that Naruto had hit him. What had surprised him was that it hadn't even registered that Naruto was there let alone making moves to nearly break his jaw. It had only registered a few days after when he had seen Naruto again and he had asked him to lunch at Ichiraku's ramen stand how much the 15 year old had changed. He had found out even later than that, from Sakura, that the change had happened immediately after he had tried to kill the blonde.

He had put two and two together and decided that asking the boy might cause trouble. So he had kept his mouth shut.

As Naruto finished untangling his legs he sat on the ground grumpily. He was a little disheveled but he was fine otherwise. Though Sasuke would easily take the chance to try and get some spirit out of the blonde once again.

"Oi! Dobe! Are you all right? That fall had to have hurt that pretty little face of yours." He paused. That was not how it was meant to come out! It was meant to come out as a joke! As a tease! Not a flirt!

Naruto froze mid-grumble realizing what Sasuke had just said.

"Come on dobe, get up. We wouldn't want you to look any worse for your Hinata-chan. You know she is waiting for your return in anticipation of your answer. You wouldn't want to scare her off looking like you do," He recovered with a smirk more at his own tactfulness than at the blush that spread across Naruto's face. though it was nearly invisible in the darkness Naruto was certain that Sasuke saw it. Sasuke had indeed seen it. but he didn't know that the blush was not because of his jest at the Hyuga girls crush on him but at the comment that if it had come from anyone other than the ice prince himself, Naruto would have thought a flirt.

Still, he got to his feet. Once he was steady, he gave the Uchiha a glare, though he wasn't really into it and he knew Sasuke could tell.

Naruto grabbed the sleeping bag off of the ground and started to roll it up.

Suddenly both belatedly remembered why they had gotten up in the first place.

Gaara.

He still sat in the same spot as last night and had his eyes trained on the both of them. They both also saw that Kankuro was asleep next to him and Temari was gone from his side. Sasuke gave him an even look and started to walk away, out of the camp. He had managed to grab his cloak easily, when Naruto had tripped, to hide from the blond what exactly had gotten them closer that night. Though he was quite confident that the young Kazekage had noticed the lingering problem.

Naruto was left to look nervously at the sand nin who gazed intently back. He was excused the awkwardness when a quiet deadly voice interrupted. "Where's Uchiha?" it was Neji who had said this. He had had less trust for the redeemed traitor than most and was always wary of him.

"I think he went to get water…but I'm not entirely sure. H didn't say anything when he left."

"hmm…" his voice had woken TenTen as well and Kankuro was stirring. That left Sakura to be awoken in the twilight hours just before the sun peeked over the horizon.

They were going to have to leave. As soon as Sakura awoke, Sasuke came back, and a brief breakfast was shared they were to be off.

A/N well this one is out way faster than the others! I finished in record time!

Thanks for the patience!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: well I am very sorry to those that have been waiting for this…I had MORE homework and I'll have even more as the year goes on…we have MAP testing in the spring, so the teachers are trying to "prepare" us. Oh well. Sorry anyways.

Sasuke walked away from camp with a great frustration. He walked pointedly in the opposite direction of Temari's look-out-post. He didn't want the older woman to see what he was going to do. That is if the cold water of the stream that he was headed for didn't calm his libido. There were very few places where water was this plentiful in wind country, but this far into the fall season it was even wetter. There had been streams on all sides of the camp. Sasuke had picked this one because it was far enough from the camp that if he needed to relieve himself, he could without them hearing and interrupting. It also gave him the perfect excuse; he was just going to get washed up, as far as they knew.

He knew at least Neji would be suspicious. He always was. When Sasuke had been gone Neji had gotten much closer to Naruto. He was the closest to Naruto even now excluding himself and Gaara. Gaara. He suddenly remembered the look in the redhead's eyes. What had that been? It may have been suspicion; or perhaps it was awareness.

Sasuke had the feeling that Gaara knew exactly what was going through his head. It was unnerving. Even for the infamous Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke walked through the woods with those thoughts on his mind for no more than 3 minutes before the images of his dream the previous night intruded. That hot sweating body beneath him then the position switching. The perfectly toned chest just an inch above his skin. Even now it was tantalizingly erotic. He knew that with this line of thought he would never have relief. These thoughts didn't stop though, even as he reached the creek the images refused to stop running around in his head making it impossible to forget those tanned hips bucking against him, or those perfect lips running down his body, or the feeling of those perfectly strait teeth grating lightly across his…STOP!!! His mind screamed. He had to stop thinking about this or he would never get back to camp.

He crouched down on the bank of the creek, making his fully erect penis rub against the barely loose anbu issued pants and the muscles contract making it that much harder to ignore. He touched his hand to the water, doing his best to disregard these feelings. He stood again and started to strip off his cloak. Then came the tight black sleeveless shirt that usually went under the armor or the uniform. As he stripped off the article he felt the cold air brush his heated skin, but it did nothing to calm him. He stood shirtless on the bank of the creek with a small itch in the back of his mind. He didn't realize what it was…it was there for only a second then was gone. He dismissed the feeling and continued to peel off the sweaty clothes. The sandals, then the pants. After that came the plain black boxers and the leg wraps and arm wraps. As the chilling air came into contact with his body, he felt the goose bumps cover him, but he forced the shiver away as he stepped down into the water.

Immediately he wanted to jump out of the water, but he stood stark still for a minute. Starting to move, he knew this attempt at calming his body was useless. He knew what he would have to do, but the thought of any of his still wary teammates finding him masturbating while they ate what was supposed to resemble a breakfast did not sound appealing. But he needed release desperately. He moved deeper into the water so that he was up to his waist in icy-cold water. As he did this, the water reminded him of the sweat that had rolled off of Naruto in his dream. It was tormenting and he knew those thoughts would only serve as troublesome. He hated and loved the feelings that had gotten to him about his blonde haired teammate and friend. He loved them because no matter how hard he tried he could not deny that they had kept him alive and sane in his darkest times. It was the only thing that Orochimaru could not take from him. He hated them because they had to be kept secret and if the blonde ever found out it may end the bond that had grown incredibly over the years. He hated how he had to keep this from the blonde, but he did it nonetheless. He had had to keep things from Naruto more than once, but it was usually for the blonde's own sake. If only the man only knew what Sasuke had gone through, he would want to resurrect Orochimaru just so he could torture him to death. If Sasuke had not killed him already killed him he would have done it anyways because of the few thing that Sasuke had already told him.

When the cold water did nothing to cool the heat in his nether regions, Sasuke dunked his head in. this made it so that he could give the excuse that he went to clean himself up.

He waded toward the shore as he saw the sun peek over the horizon. It gave off a faint warmth as his wet body was exposed to the cool breeze. He looked around desperately. Half of him said '_screw it and lets just do it right here!' _The other more logical half told him to find a place that easily defensible, because there was still a missing nin on the loose. But at the moment his body was screaming desperately for release. He bent down by his clothes to grab a kunai from his pouch, just in case, then move back a ways.

He dropped down with his back a few feet from a large boulder, facing the stream. He sat with his knees slightly bent and open. His hand went immediately to the inside of his thigh, lightly touching the pale, tender flesh. He had had to do this for long enough that he knew exactly where to touch to make himself shudder. He also knew his own weakness was his neck, but that would require another person so he couldn't use that.

His other hand was moving down his abdomen slowly caressing the toned muscles. His right moved up his thigh slowly at first. His heart beat faster and his hand picked up the pace. It seemed to have a mind of its own as it trailed circles over the flesh just below his heated manhood. As his hands started to move toward his cock simultaneously he felt the pressure rise. Sasuke wasn't aware of the hand that moved its way around his waist barely an inch from the flesh. Nor was he aware of the lithe form behind him. That is until those hands, those gloriously elegant and pale hands with black fingernails and thin but not bony fingers, beat his hands to their destination.

A/N: he he…guess who it is…:D. I love doing that…and I know I took a long time to update but I had a good excuse…more homework! DUN DUN DUN!!!! Well I kinda got a little behind and I had to stay after school cause if hadn't I would have had detention. So anyways sorry.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Well unfortunately the computer I am using to write this story it a stupid motherfucker that hates me! The damn thing shut down my program and didn't let me save the first finished chapter! It was perfect too!!! I am still so pissed…so I had to redo the changes I made and it ended up not being as good as the first version, but at least it's done…

Naruto stood in the tree Temari had only just vacated with one thought on his mind: Sasuke. He had seen the look in Sasuke's eyes. It was only there for a second but he was sure he had seen it. It was desperation, longing, and more importantly…lust. He also hadn't missed the bulge that he had not seen but felt when Sasuke had laid against him the night before. He had almost missed it but he knew it was there. And by the look Gaara had given Sasuke, he may have seen it when Sasuke had gotten up.

He knew that the look wasn't meant for him…but that didn't stop him from longing for it to be. There was more than one feeling going through him at the moment. Lust. Love. Longing. And it was all for Sasuke. He also felt a deep sadness at what he couldn't have. After all, Sasuke still needed to produce an heir and restore the clan. But Naruto was a guy, and he couldn't do that with another guy. And besides, Sasuke was straight, right? (I know what your thinking: "ya right! He's about as straight as a corkscrew!" but please remember, this is Naruto, and he doesn't know what we do!). Naruto stared out at the forest with small brown bar that he was trying desperately to eat in his hand. In his opinion, the person who had invented them had had a very big grudge. They looked eerily like something that had come out of a monkey's ass, and monkey's crap was not meant for human consumption. But when your body demanded it, you had to eat something, right?

He felt a small shift in the wind. It gave him an unnatural chill. Something was wrong…so very wrong.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt the hand that wasn't his own clasp over his manhood, and he suddenly felt paralyzed. The feeling of those elegant, pale, strong hands touching his body was not alien to him, but it had been so many years that he was stunned not to mentioned scared beyond what he had ever felt. It had been so long that he had almost left those memories behind.

"Well, well, well. Little brother…don't you think it's a bit shameful to be doing this out in the open, and on a mission no less." That cold, silky voice sent suppressed chills down Sasuke's spine. He had not heard that tone since the day Itachi had killed the entire Uchiha clan save Sasuke. It had been the worst day of his life, and not just because of Itachi's murderous rampage. His instincts suddenly propelled him into action. His own hands went to those of his brother. His grip was enough to make any man cry out in pain. But Itachi was not just any man, so he just smirked. Sasuke pulled Itachi forward by the hands, into his back, so that his face was over his shoulder. His legs sprang up in an awkward position giving just enough room so that he could plant a foot in Itachi's face. But Itachi was too smart and too quick for that.

Itachi released one hand from Sasuke's grip with ease and Sasuke suddenly felt something enter his body. In less than a second pain flared throughout his body. He never even felt the scream that ripped from his throat. He felt his legs go limp before him and his arms fall to his sides. The pain started to dull, and he was suddenly more aware. His first instinct was to push himself away from Itachi's chest, but he found that he couldn't move. Whatever Itachi had done had immobilized him. His need for survival only served to push his brain into action. There were few things and few people he would die or even suffer for. He would gladly do both for Naruto. But with Itachi here, he knew others had to be close, and that meant that his team was in danger. He had to warn them.

"Itachi, you bastard! What the fuck did you do!?!" Okay…so his mouth worked. He turned his head to look at Itachi, but found that he could only move his neck a few inches.

Then he tried to move his arms again. 'No…' Next his hands. His hands barely twitched in acknowledging his commands. His fingers did the same, as did his legs, feet, and toes. The bones and muscles refused to work together. And the joints and ligaments refused to work at all. 'Fuck…'

He tried to move his back, to get away from Itachi; just an inch would help to get his mind around what was happening. His body refused, giving him warning of the pain it would cause, but he pushed farther and tried harder. His back arched and he cried out in pain as it coursed through his body. It shot up his spine and centered on one spot, between two vertebrae in his lower back. So that was where it was…

Sasuke growled as he heard the vindictive laugh emit from his captor. "It wouldn't hurt so much little brother, if you didn't move. But then again, you did always take a bit more after father than mother. You could never stand still for longer than two seconds. Sorry Sasuke-chan, but this will take longer than two seconds."

Sasuke tried to move again, trying not to let his back move too much. This only made Itachi laugh harder.

'**_USELESS_**! **_Pathetic_**! _Worthless! _Insignificant! Fool…'

Itachi's hands started move, making Sasuke suddenly aware of their presence. They touched the flesh of his inner thighs with torturously slow movements, working their way up so close, and then moving away only to come back a little closer than the time before. These movements made Sasuke shudder. Suddenly Itachi firmly grasped Sasuke's cock causing him to gasp and bite his lip.

"You know Sasuke, you have become quite beautiful," Itachi whispered into his ear. He bent his lips to his neck and lightly caressed Sasuke's supple flesh. He knew that Itachi was smirking, he could hear it in the way he spoke, and he could feel the evil intent behind it. But he still could not move. He still struggled to move, though it was pointless and only made things worse. His body only moved a little and it caused a friction that made him start to harden regardless of what he wanted. "It seems you've gotten stronger, little brother. Not many have the strength to even move as much as you are."

He felt the memories that he had long since buried resurface in the face of this evil being from his past.

Then as the memories came back to him he felt those eerily familiar hands start to work as he struggled to move. They started to stroke, lightly at first, then getting rougher. They moved and every once in a while squeezed a little. His breath was coming shakily and he still felt terrified. All that went through his mind were thoughts of the past. He couldn't think of an escape. As the hand kept in its motion, Sasuke felt himself fully harden to the touch.

"No." Sasuke's voice sounded feeble, even to him. "No!" he suddenly found his voice turn to a low growl. "Not again…never again."

A/N: I know, I know…Uchiha incest…sorry for those that get mad, but my hand and my mind usually don't tell me where they're going. But at least it was a longer chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Ok so here's the deal…I was so swamped with homework and projects and gyaah!!! It was kind of hard to write this chapter so it took even longer than it should have. I promise though, I'll have the next one out very much sooner!

CH.9

Sasuke felt the hand squeeze lightly once more and couldn't help but moan. His naked body was drenched in sweat and he wanted…no…he needed release. It was slow and painful and Itachi knew it. Sasuke was long past the fear; all he wanted was for it to end.

"No…" he whispered breathlessly. How long had this been going on? It felt like hours but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Each second was agonizingly long and he felt the tension in his body as Itachi continued his attack on the beautiful body before him. He knew very well what his brother had been dreaming the night before and it made him furious. He had watched as Sasuke's sweaty body had found Naruto in the darkness and the flaxen haired youth had been held flush against the raven in his lust filled dreams. He had performed a jutsu that allowed him to see into another's mind and what he had seen in Sasuke's head had infuriated him.

He looked down at the back of Sasuke's neck and once again attacked it. "Well…Sasuke…" he whispered, lowering his lips to his little brother's neck. "This is taking longer than I expected. Why do you resist? I only want you to feel pleasure."

"That's…gyaah! Not…your…" Sasuke struggled to get the words out. "Place!" at his exclamation he felt his body start to give in.

"No? Well I don't think its Naruto's either…"

He felt Sasuke stiffen at those words.

"Yes Sasuke. I saw that little dream of yours. It was quite interesting. But you're not his. You're mine. Always." Itachi gave a particularly hard squeeze and felt the hot liquid spill over his hand.

He lifted himself off of the ground pulling the needle that immobilized Sasuke from his back nimbly as he stood.

At this, pain exploded once again in his back making him scream out in pain once more. As the pain subsided he barely registered that Itachi stood before him with a smirk on his face, hand drenched in Sasuke's liquid. What did register was the fact that he could now move, but he was too tired and in too much pain even though the pain in his back was slowly leaving. He forced himself to look at Itachi with his weary obsidian eyes. As he did he wished he hadn't.

Itachi lifted his wet hand, with a glint of amusement in his eyes, to his lips to suck the wetness from his hand and to taste Sasuke's sweetness.

"I will provide with a piece of information my dear little Sasuke…Hakure has joined the akatsuki." With this he was gone.

Sasuke wanted death. He wanted an escape. He never wanted to face Itachi again, though he knew he would. But most of all he never wanted to face Naruto again. Naruto. _Naruto! _ He was on his feet in an instant. He grabbed the clothes on the ground around him he threw on the pants quickly followed by his weapons pouch.

He was then racing through the forest, back to camp. If Naruto was in danger, death would have to wait.

It only took him a few seconds, but that, to Sasuke was too long. When he arrived the entire group was awake and sitting around a tiny fire in the middle of the camp. They looked up when he landed with a clumsy grace, that almost rivaled Naruto's, behind Sakura's back. She looked a little startled at the shape he was in. His pants were scrunched as if hastily put on, his hair was limp around face instead of in it's usual spikes. His shirt and cloak were in his hands and he was sweating and flushed from head to toe. But what was more unnerving was the combination of anger, exhaustion, anxiety, worry, and above all, fear.

Only Gaara and Naruto noticed the pungent odor that radiated from Sasuke. And only they noticed the pain in Sasuke's obsidian eyes.

A/N: yes, yes I know its short. I hate to leave it so short, but it's a bit hard for me to ever find a good place to leave a chapter, so this is a good spot. And again, I promises it will be sooner rather than later next time!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: ok first of all, I really want to thank those of you who reviewed. I was kind of worried that people would have a problem with the incest thing, but so far no one has said anything. Second of all…well I know I need to update more often but at least it was a lot sooner than last time.

CH.10

"What!!" TenTen yelled in disbelief. "That's not possible! He's only been gone for three months! How's he managed to mix up with their lot?"

"More importantly…" Neji gave Sasuke a calculating look before continuing with his thought. "How do you know?"

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction before his look of indifference took over again. "Does it matter?"

"Yes," was his simple answer.

"I was told."

"By whom?"

"Itachi."

"And why would he want you to know that?" this time the speaker was Gaara.

"Because he's playing with us." Naruto answered for him.

"To what purpose?" Neji asked, again looking to Sasuke for answers.

"He's a sadistic bastard. What else? He enjoys it." Naruto answered for Sasuke again.

Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's bare shoulder, but pulled away immediately took it away when Sasuke hissed in pain.

"What really happened, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, just above a whisper.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, but he just shook his head not wanting to go there.

Naruto understood what this meant, but that didn't mean he didn't want to know. He desperately wanted to know what Itachi had done to his Sasuke, his loved one. It took a lot to scare Sasuke, to hurt him. Itachi had done both with ease and he wanted to know how.

Naruto had not missed the scent that had accompanied Sasuke's return to camp. The smell still lingered. But it was only Sasuke's. Itachi's smell wasn't on him, at least that kind of smell. Though, Naruto didn't have Kiba's sense of smell, so Itachi could have touched Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't have known it.

As Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes, there was pain there, a deep pain that bored deep into his soul. Though, from the way Sasuke flinched at the slightest touch, he could see it was physical too. He knelt down where Sasuke sat facing him. His heart tore at the look Sasuke gave him once more. There was no mistaking the torment, the sorrow that saturated his obsidian eyes. It was painful to see.

Sasuke in turn saw the pain flicker in Naruto's eyes.

Sasuke's anguish went unnoticed by the others. For this, he was grateful for. But it would have been better if Naruto had not noticed either. It would have been easier.

But Naruto's queries would have to wait. The problem of the akatsuki was too pressing.

"Sakura, you are to go back with TenTen to inform Tsunade of this development."

Both gave a look of doubt, but nodded and disappeared into the dense foliage.

"Uchiha, I want a word."

Sasuke nodded wearily and stood stiffly. The aftereffects of the paralysis his brother had put on him with that senbon needle had not fully worn off and he was extremely sore.

He barely caught the warning glare that Naruto sent in Neji's direction. Neji nodded to Naruto with a fierce gaze of his own.

When Sasuke and Neji were a safe distance away from the camp Neji spoke.

"Uchiha, you should know that the only reason that I believe you is because of the state you came back to camp in. that coupled with the fact that Naruto-kun believes you, are the only thing that made me send both TenTen and Sakura. In fact if it weren't for Naruto-kun, you wouldn't be here, on my team. Nor would you even be aloud onto any team." He spoke with a controlled sternness, but Sasuke could tell he wanted to yell this all at him. If Neji hadn't been part of the highly esteemed Hyuga clan, he probably would have acted with the tact of the twelve-year-old Naruto.

Sasuke's expression was emotionless as he looked at Neji with a cool indifference. "Is that all you had to say Hyuga? Because I know you don't trust me. Not many do. Naruto knows how grateful I am if that's what you were getting at. Now if you don't mind we do have more pressing issues than whether or not you trust me. I'm sure the Kazekage doesn't appreciate waiting for the captain of anbu squad 11 to give his unneeded opinion to his subordinate who already knows it." He raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge. If Neji wanted to argue with that Sasuke was too exhausted, mentally and physically, to comply to his need for a row.

Neji seemed to sense this.

"What really happened Sasuke? With Itachi?" he peered intently at Sasuke with his eerie silver eyes. They shined a little too brightly in the morning haze. It unnerved the young avenger.

"Nothing that is of concern to you captain," he said with the guardedness of a guilty conscience. He knew he sounded pathetic. His voice was the dismal utterance of someone who has lost all hope but clings to its nonexistence. Had Itachi really reduced him to this? With that thought he walked away, back to his dobe who sat against a tree sharpening his kunai with a small kit that had been tucked away in one of the many pouches of his ninja vest. He looked up with worry at the worn-down raven as he walked heavily back into camp.

Neji shook his head at the unsatisfying answer that the Uchiha heir had provided his own fatigued mind with. It must have been an ordeal. He knew that Sasuke didn't hate him, but he wouldn't have been so…resigned if it were normal circumstances. He would have never called him 'captain' without some sort of sarcasm, or contempt. It was just not natural.

Naruto put away his newly sharpened kunai and looked up at Sasuke, who was now sitting in the tree that Naruto leaned against. The limb he sat on was about five feet above Naruto.

The distant look on Sasuke's face was enough evidence for Naruto to know what he was thinking about.

Naruto stood up, his eyes not leaving Sasuke. He leapt up to sit beside him.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I may look like a fool to you Sasuke, but I am probably one of the most perceptive people you know, especially when it comes to you. I thought you knew that already." Naruto said it lightly, but the look in his eyes told Sasuke that he was absolutely serious.

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed. "I'm still so weak!"

"I don't believe that."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a helpless look on his face. "That's the reason he came to me. To prove that he's still so much stronger than me. It's sickening," he spat with a vicious look in his eyes.

"Do you remember what happened at the chunin exams?"

"How could I not?"

"When I fought Gaara?"

"Ya."

"Do you remember exactly what I said when you told me to take Sakura and leave you to fend him off."

Sasuke paused at these words.

"You don't?"

Sasuke just stared at him. In truth he knew what Naruto had said. He remembered perfectly. But he didn't really want to admit that just yet.

"It was when I first realized what true strength was. To have comrades, friends, loved ones to be there for, to protect and defend those you love and care about, that is true strength. That is how you prove your worth, your strength, how much you're willing to sacrifice for those precious to you. I know you're so much stronger than Itachi because you have put your life on the line for me more than once. You've done it for more than just me too. You've done it for this team. We are your comrades. I trust you more than I trust anyone else. You are strong Sasuke. Don't even say you aren't."

"Wow…I think that was the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. Did you rehearse that or something?" Sasuke laughed and dodged the fist that was swung at his face.

"You're such a bastard you know that!" Naruto growled. "Here I'm trying to be all sensitive and shit and you go and screw it up!"

Sasuke just smirked at him still avoiding the fists that kept flying at him.

"Uchiha!" a slightly irate Neji called from below the tree. "I expect a full report when we get back to Konohagakuri! And I mean a _full _report."

With that, Naruto took his chance for payback from a distracted Sasuke. Though he was kind enough to avoid the face this time. As soon as his fist connected with Sasuke's shoulder though he regretted it.

"Sasuke, what's wrong? Is it the report?"

Sasuke didn't answer as he slid from the branch gracefully.

His face was once again blank as he stood just below the tree. Naruto followed his action smoothly landing beside him.

"Sasuke…" his voice was stern and serious.

"Naruto…make sure your never alone." Sasuke said with his face schooled expressionless.

"What?" came Naruto's confused reply.

"They are still after the Kyuubi. I know you're strong. You may be stronger than me." He grumbled the last line quietly so that Naruto had to strain to hear it. His pride was stubborn as always. "But…just don't let yourself be alone. It would be bad to say the least if they found you and you were alone. Just promise me you won't let that happen."

"Fine, Sasuke. But promises me you'll do the same," Naruto countered looking the raven dead in the eye. "Itachi is still the sadistic fucker who has killed more people than I care to remember and he seems to have a thing for messing with you."

Sasuke nodded his consent. _'You have no idea Naruto, no idea at all.' _He looked up at the amber colored sky as the sun rose higher into it. _'I hope you never know.'_

A/N: Ok so it was longer but I'm not all that satisfied with it. The next chapter will be better. I hope. This one was a bit boring to write but it was kind of laying the pavement (so to speak) for the whole story. And you get to see a bit into Neji's mind and how he feels about Sasuke. Well there you go, another chapter and it was about eight pages too! A record for me I think.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto there would be so much guyxguy sex that it would not be aloud on any channel unless you bought it from the ppv porno's.

Warning: this is yaoi! Meaning boyxboy. If you don't like it don't read it!

A/N: thanks again for all the reviews my loverly readers! Anyways, on to the fic!!

CH.11

_Sasuke nodded his consent. _'You have no idea Naruto, no idea at all.'_ He looked up at the amber colored sky as the sun rose higher into it. _'I hope you never know.'

Sasuke's thoughts strayed to Naruto again as they made their was through the dense forest before them. They had been moving for over three hours. Anbu team 11 had left the camp along with the Kazekage Gaara and his second and third in command, Kankuro and Temari, who were also his older siblings.

They had decided, or rather Neji had, that they would return to konoha. Although they were the most skilled anbu team Konohagakuri they still were not in any condition to be fighting akatsuki. Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Naruto as he moved fluidly in front of him. His nimble feet made no sound as they pressed lightly on each branch. His powerful thighs pushed effortlessly and no doubt rippled from the movements they made. Then there was that beautifully firm ass that just asked to be touched. It was an almost visible struggle to keep his hands in place by his sides and his feet moving at a constant pace. He watched the graceful arch of Naruto's back as he leapt to the next branch using minimal amounts of chakra. Then there was that angelic glow of his flaxen hair as the sun hit it at the right angle giving him a golden halo. His tan skin contrasted sharply to his own pale hide. It was then that the thought occurred to him that had lingered on his subconscious for as long as he had known how much he wanted Naruto. _'I don't deserve him.' _ This thought pulsed in his mind once again making him tear his gaze away from the amazing creature before him. He stared at the forest before him with a deep thought. _'How much longer am I going to be able to take this? How much longer am I going to be able to handle being this close to Naruto? I'm not sure if I can take much more of this!' _

Naruto's own thoughts were quite different from that of Sasuke. He had felt the eyes on him for the first few hours of the journey and knew that at the very least _he_ was being watched; whether it was someone on his team or some enemy ninja, he didn't know. But he felt like he was being watched and he didn't like it. It was odd to know this information and even odder that no one else seemed perturbed by it. That meant only one thing; he was the only one being watched. This also meant that it was probably someone on his own team. He had ruled out Neji, simply because he was in the lead. Temari was moving beside him along with Kankuro. That left only Sasuke and Gaara seeing as TenTen and Sakura had left the group earlier. He had thought a lot about it and could not even come up with a single reason that Sasuke would be staring at him. In his mind, that eliminated him. So it was most likely Gaara. But oddly enough he couldn't surmise as to why Gaara would be staring either. But then again, Gaara always was a peculiar character. No matter how long he had known him, Naruto still couldn't figure him out. But to Naruto, that just made him all the more interesting.

But after a few hours the feeling left abruptly. The rapidity of it nearly made Naruto stumble. But he recovered quicker than anyone could have thought possible for the blond "dobe".

He watched Temari and Kankuro out of the corner of his eye while still keeping an eye on Neji. None of them seemed to even notice that he had just nearly missed the branch under him. For this he was thankful, though it did hurt a little to know that no one even noticed. Perhaps it was because of the exhaustion that was draining them all. But he was wrong in the assumption that no one had noticed. In fact, three of his five companions had noticed. Neji had noticed the very slight slip in chakra with little difficulty. His byakugan had long been deactivated but he was still hypersensitive to the chakra system. Sasuke had also noticed. The slight twitch in Naruto's movement had told him very distinctly that something was wrong. Gaara had also seen this, but he, unlike the others knew that it was not from a problem with the chakra. He had been able to see the glances that Naruto had thrown to his two siblings and to the Hyuga. He had also seen the way Sasuke had stared so openly at Naruto's back almost the entire day. He saw that it was at the exact moment that Sasuke had removed his eyes from Naruto that his step had faltered.

Gaara was not worrying and Neji could see nothing wrong with the way Naruto was handling himself now. Sasuke on the other hand was not so perceptive. Again his gaze lingered on Naruto before he forced himself to stop staring again.

He sped up a little to catch up to Naruto. "You okay?" he asked in a quiet voice so that only Naruto could hear.

'_Damn it!'_ he swore in his head.

'**Now kit…it's your own fault that you slipped up' **

He nearly jumped out of his skin hearing that deep, sly voice in his head. He did however sigh audibly.

_'Shut up Kyuubi. I don't need your shit right now.' _Naruto could practically see the evil grin on the foxes face.

**'Oh but kit, it has been such a long time since we had a…chat.' **His voice was silky and low, having an amused air to it.

Naruto inwardly groaned. His "chats" with Kyuubi always seemed to make him angry and want to isolate himself, which he usually did until Sasuke came and literally beat it out of him.

**'I know how much you love to talk to me. But I think that this Uchiha is quite interesting. He just reeks of arousal. He's a horny one.' **Kyuubi's voice as he said this was one that made Naruto want to shiver. **'I think he has a thing for someone here. I bet it's the Hyuga brat. He's a pretty one. But then it could be the sand man. Or perhaps it's the girl. She's got a nice figure and a pretty face.' **Naruto knew that Kyuubi was just doing this to mess with him again but he couldn't help but wonder if any of this was true.

"Oi! Naruto! I'm talking to you!" Sasuke's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.

He looked up from his gaze at the braches just before his feet and into Sasuke's eyes he was pulled.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

After a moment Naruto collected himself enough to answer. "Ya," he said casually, "I'm fine." He gave a small, very fake smile.

This, of course, Sasuke saw right through. "No your not," he said simply.

Naruto bit the inside of his lip where Sasuke couldn't see. "I'm fine, really!" sometimes he hated how well Sasuke knew him.

"_No, your not." _His voice was more than a little stressed. He was trying hard not to throttle Naruto for being as stubborn as he was.

They stopped moving, landing on the next branch with a quiet thunk. This signaled to the others to stop.

"Naruto? What is it? Uchiha?" Neji was the first to speak, interrupting a small staring contest between the two.

Naruto wouldn't or couldn't look away from the obsidian that seemed to stare him down in order to bring to the surface what was wrong. He sighed as he finally looked away.

"It's nothing." He looked back into those bottomless eyes once again with a little more resolve. They were trying to read into his soul.

"No, I suppose not," Sasuke agreed, giving Naruto a look that told him they would talk later.

Neji gave them both a suspicious look, studying each ones face. Before he turned around and started their group moving again his eyes caught Gaara's and he saw in his eyes, as unreadable as they were, that the other knew something Neji did not.

As they all started off again small irregular movements alerted Sasuke that Naruto was definitely dealing with something that he wasn't telling the group.

_'If you don't shut the hell up you fuckin fox, I-I-I'll do SOMETHING!!!!!!!'_

_**'Sure kit, sure**_**…face it. You can't do anything to me. Nothing.'**

Naruto felt his anger increase once more at the fox who had been, yet again, insulting him and driving him insane. He tried to school his features again, but he found that the fox would not let him.

**'Well kit, you can always look at the Uchiha-brat. He certainly is nice to look at' **his voice was a bit feral as he said this and it made Naruto shiver.

**' He would be even more attractive under you. With sweat dripping down his face…and a scream coming from his lips…' **the fox sent an image to Naruto's mind. Sasuke was indeed under him. And he was drenched with sweat. But his features were marred with fear. And pain. Suddenly Naruto heard a scream. Then he was falling. He normally would have been able to catch himself, but that image was still going through his mind and that screaming-that horrible screaming would not stop.

Suddenly it stopped and so did he.

He felt warmth envelope him and sturdiness surround him. He tried to look, but found that he couldn't see anything. It was black. But he felt the arms around him. He clutched at the person. The smell that hit his nostrils was that of sweat, dirt, forest, and something else. Cinnamon. And raspberries. It was faint. But it was there.

_'Sasuke.' _

His breathing was heavy and his throat raw. He suddenly knew. He knew that the screaming was himself, Naruto. He was such an idiot. A true shinobi he was, screaming like a twelve year old at his own imaginings.

_'No, not yours. Kyuubi's.'_

His arms tightened their hold as the images flooded back to his plagued mind. "No." he whispered it so quietly that Sasuke had to strain to hear it.

He had pulled Naruto onto a branch a few feet below after jumping immediately to save Naruto after he had seen his foot slip. The look of horror on his face had told him that Naruto would never be able to save himself. He had been lost in thought. He knew very well about Naruto having the nine-tailed fox inside of him. It was not new information. He also knew that the fox talked to Naruto. He had at first taken it to be a bad thing but Naruto had assured him that the fox was usually fine, a pest, but not all that bad. He was useful most of the time, or so Naruto had told him at first. But he had once found Naruto in a state of disarray because of something that the fox had said.

_Sasuke awoke with a start. There was a stiffness to the air around him, a sense of disuse. It had been three days since he had moved back into the Uchiha district, back into his childhood home and he was still getting used to its cold lifelessness. He somehow felt restless. He had woken from a dream of his life before the massacre. It brought with it most of his memories from before that time, the good and the bad. He felt the need to be outside tugging at him. He put on a pair of shoes, not even bothering to put on his normal ninja attire. So he left the house in a pair of flannel pants and an opened button-up shirt. His hair was disheveled but he didn't care. It was not as if he was going to be seen. _

_He left the house and walked briskly away from it down the dark, abandoned streets of his late clan's district. _

_He wasn't aware that he actually had a purpose and a reason for where his feet took him, but it seemed that his body knew something he didn't. so he let himself be led by his sandaled feet. He heard a low noise. It was soft at first but as his feet pulled him forward, the sound got a bit louder. It sounded like sobbing. And indeed it was. He would recognize the sound anywhere, like an old friend that he was so familiar with. _

_He found that his feet had taken him to the training grounds that he had first trained with team seven in. sitting against the middle of the three poles sat a crumpled figure that he assumed was the one crying. The moon was but a fragment tonight and he barely saw any of this persons features. He was about to turn and leave them to their lament when he saw the shock of short blond locks and then a pair of dazed blue eyes. Naruto did not seem to notice Sasuke standing before him, staring down at the mess that he was reduced to. He crouched down so that he was eyelevel to the man._

_"Naruto. What happened?"_

_Naruto's eyes seemed to clear a little and widened in surprise and a little fear at the Uchiha. "S-Sasuke! What are you doing here!?" his eyes were red and his cheeks red and blotchy._

_"I'm not sure," he said calmly. "What happened?" he repeated his question with a look of concern. _

_He suddenly felt himself being pulled into a hug. It was a tight and uncomfortable embrace, but it was contact with Naruto, and for that he wouldn't or perhaps couldn't complain. He let Naruto cry on his shoulder for more than an hour, saying gentle words of comfort, before the blonde calmed down a bit. As he sat back and looked Naruto in the eye he wanted nothing more than to kiss the blonde's tears away. But he refrained, for fear of scaring the man away. _

_He let Naruto speak freely without interruption. It all came on its own without persuasion and for that, he was thankful. _

_It had been a mess of things. The villagers had started to harass Naruto after he had just completed his last mission of the week. They had called him all the things that he was used to but somehow it still saddened him. After he had been left alone, Kyuubi had started in. He had told Naruto how really useless he was, that the villagers were right to treat him the way that they did. The fox had told him that the best way to make them stop was to kill them. To kill them all. Naruto had tried to block out the voice but was unsuccessful in every attempt. It had made the voice stronger and he had pushed to saying that everything was fake. All his friendships, all his adoptive family, even Sasuke. He had said that he wanted to kill every one of them. That they all reeked of pity and deceit. It had scared and hurt Naruto. He had wanted nothing more than to take his own life, but he knew it was a coward's way, and so he told Sasuke. _

_It scared Sasuke to hear his best friend talk this way. He was not meant to act this way. It was iniquitous, not right._

Sasuke was not sure if this was what happened or not. He had no way to tell. But he had a strong suspicion.

The blonde still seemed to be in his own thoughts. The others were staring at him with concern and confusion in their eyes.

Naruto did not say a word as Sasuke held him close. He was not even mildly aware of the five sets of eyes on him. His eyes were still frightened and round. They looked horrified at the visions going through his head. Kyuubi's torture could rival that of the (1)Mangekyuo Sharingan, at least for Naruto. His face contorted in pain as he pulled himself closer to Sasuke. Suddenly the tan arms that held the body so close to him loosened and then pushed Sasuke away. He looked confusedly at Naruto who had a scowl on his face. He was angry, anxious and quite scared. He couldn't be this close to Sasuke. It was not right.

He did not waist time in retreating. He had to get away. Suddenly, without warning, Neji was pushed out of the way and before anyone could recover, he was gone.

A/N: Okay so I've got another one down. It was kind of angsty. Oh well. At least it wasn't too short.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed! All my loverly readers! You are all much appreciated! But ya…well I keep forgetting to put up disclaimers and warnings…so here they are…

Disclaimer: no sadly I don't own Naruto…you'd know because of the immense sexual content…what!?! I'm a horny teenager…I can't help it… 

**Warning: this fic is rated M for a reason…but no there are no lemons in this chapter…sorry**

CH.12

Naruto flew through the forest with a speed that would be impossible for his entire team to follow. And by their shocked expressions they would need more than fifteen seconds to react. That gave him enough time to escape. His heart raced, as the images would not leave his mind. They were overpowering and he could not rid himself of them. The guilt was so overwhelming that he was not able to face Sasuke at that moment. At least not until the fox was done tormenting him.

'**Not so brave now little kit, are we? You should know that if you weren't my life source, my prison, you would be dead. I can't very well demolish the prison with me inside, now can I?' **The fox started to chuckle, low and steady. Then the low chortle was replaced by full-blown laughter. It was loud in Naruto's mind and it rumbled, quaking his thoughts. **'Never underestimate me boy! I wouldn't put up with you and your unremitting _feelings _if I were not trapped. You are quite lucky I depend on your survival or you would be dead already.' **He sounded disgusted as he hissed the words out.

Naruto didn't care that what the fox said was indeed true. All he cared about were the pictures the fox was putting in his head. They were terrible. All included the rape of Sasuke, the only person who had stolen Naruto's affections, disclosed to him or not. Naruto did not love anyone like he loved Sasuke and he could not help that it had always been that way. He didn't feel the tears until he heard the choked sob that came from his mouth unbidden. His face was already wet and had been for a while. He didn't know that he had been crying from the moment the images had turned the way Kyuubi crafted them. His blue eyes were dull with pain and he placed his mask on from where it sat, neglected until then, tied to his hip.

"Now Naruto, a mask is simply unbecoming of you." The voice was smooth and it resembled Sasuke's somewhat, but was still distinguished. The voice made Naruto stop in his tracks making a small dent in the tree from the unstable chakra. He felt the presence now and Kyuubi, sensing that Naruto would need to be focused on this ninja for survival, stopped the images. For this Naruto was thankful.

He knew that voice almost as well as he knew his own. It was Itachi's. And he was standing right behind him. Naruto did not panic at this. He felt his instincts controlling his movements and it comforted him. He was well aware of the fact that Kyuubi was a target. It had been that way for years and it no longer scared him.

"Long time no see, Itachi-san. I was wondering when I would see you again." His voice was as calm as his now numb mind. He didn't need to be afraid of this man. But he did hate him. He hated him more than anything. He had hurt Sasuke. More than just murdering his clan, he had betrayed his little brother. For that, Naruto would make him pay. But he couldn't do that just yet. He had to wait until he was ready for the task or he might fail. He had to wait until he was no longer enraged. He knew Sasuke had wanted to do it, but he also knew that he was stronger than Sasuke. Sasuke had acknowledged this but still did not know exactly how much stronger he really was.

Naruto knew that Itachi had done something to Sasuke that morning, even though Sasuke wouldn't admit it. This angered him even more. It was maddening to know that he had been so close and had known nothing to be wrong.

Naruto felt the breath on his neck and it sent a chill down his spine. Itachi was there, for only a moment, and then he was gone. The kick blow came from the side and Naruto sensed it with just enough time to dodge it, but the next blow came too quickly. It hit him in the back and sent him forward. He barely managed to miss the tree in his way but the foot that came after it was impossible to evade. It hit him in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs. He fell the ground below the tree with an undignified thump.

He heard the sheen of a blade being pulled from its sheath and made to get up. The man was even better with a blade than with plain tai-jutsu. He had to move. Now.

He was suddenly in the trees again, fully recovered. He took slow, shallow breaths in order to calm his racing heart. His eyes closed and his heart was steady. He delved deep into his consciousness in search of something. As he looked around the tunnels, the dank halls that were saturated with water. The stains covered the ceiling and the water dripped in a constant pattern.

_**Drip.**_

_**Drip.**_

_**Drip, drip.**_

_**Drip.**_

_**Drip.**_

_**Drip, drip.**_

But to this he paid no mind. His mind was set on something else. It was far deeper inside of him than these halls. It was even farther than the cage that was prison to Kyuubi. As he passed the glowering fox he glanced into those blood red eyes. They had scared him the first time he had seen them, but now, they seemed to loose their effect. They seemed almost a little lonely.

He was searching for something. He had to find it or he might not survive this encounter with Itachi. He went deeper and deeper. He felt like he had been traveling for hours, but he knew that wasn't the case. He knew that in reality it hadn't been more than a second outside his mind. A quiet hum was he only noise.

Naruto had no idea how long the noise had been there. He was sure that it hadn't been there when he had started out. He was also sure that it had not been there when he had passed Kyuubi. But then again, in this place he was never really sure of anything.

Then it was there. Right in front of him. It glowed a light blue color, with red flashing through it every now and then. The glow illuminated the dank place with light and made his shadow stand behind him darkly, as if waiting for him to make the first move. It was warm to his skin as he approached the ball of living chakra, but to anyone else, it would burn and possibly kill any person who decided to trespass on the subconscious of Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto reached into the balls mixture of physical and spiritual energy, pushing past the barrier of red chakra that belonged to the fox, and into the blue chakra that was his own. While it would have been quite improbable for anyone to be able to do what Naruto was doing, it would have been impossible for any other to what he did next.

He reached into the direct center of the chakra and with precision that was almost unbecoming of the blonde ninja, he grabbed onto the solid clear center orb. It sent a jolt throughout his spiritual body and sent images into his mind.

He saw the forest in which his physical body sat. He looked down and saw his worn body and the branch he sat in. he turned around and suddenly he was seeing the forest behind him. He saw all around himself, but his body didn't so much as twitch.

This was his secret technique. No one had ever been able to pull it off to his knowledge. He had figured it out using the theories from the archives that he had been privileged to studying when he was given the rank of jounin. But he had found that the theories were far from the truth.

In the scrolls he had studied, he had read that, in theory, there was a technique that allowed a ninja to see his opponent's chakra system when he delved deep enough into his subconscious, and found his central store of chakra. But this theory was off. Naruto had spent months training, trying and failing to delve deep enough into his subconscious to find that energy, and test this theory. But he knew he had been missing something, some point. He knew how to get into his subconscious from his time training with Jiraiya who had helped him in controlling Kyuubi's chakra. He had delved as deep as his mind would allow before he had been pulled back into the real world, tired and quite hungry, even though in reality, he had only been training for about a minute. It had puzzled him to no end for the first two months. He had figured out halfway through the third month exactly what he was missing. He had been going through his consciousness like it was a hallway with an opened door at the end. He had yet to open the door. Kyuubi had disclosed this bit of information. For this he had needed an immense amount of chakra. He had basically blown a whole in his mind. It sounded a bit ludicrous to him now, but it had worked. He had been able to get through after a week of recovery.

He watched his surroundings for a moment. Then the movement came. It was small, a mere flicker, but it was there. His body moved easily to his commands, effectively evading a blow to the head. He saw all around him. It was an odd perspective, one that he had yet to fully understand. But he knew it better than any other. This technique was one of his most handy; he only used it against high-level ninja.

Itachi was swift and efficient in his movements; his blade came too close to Naruto for comfort, though his movements in dodging and blocking the blows were fluid and under complete control.

Naruto and Itachi's movements simultaneously sped up. Naruto noticed this and called on Kyuubi for more chakra, adding to his speed. Behind him, he noticed a large tree that he was being driven towards, backward. Without even turning to look, he moved to avoid it.

The way the moved, each predicting the others movement, seemed almost like a dance; the way they kept in step with each other so perfectly was almost melodic. They were silent, except for the occasional grunt from some particularly harsh movement, or the swish of clothing as it brushed the foliage around them, or even their own bodies.

Suddenly Itachi was so close that he couldn't use his katana. It was wedged between the two, stuck in Naruto's gloved grip. It gave Itachi minimal movement for the blade, but just enough to maneuver around to the side of Naruto's head and catch his brightly colored fox mask. It flipped off his face, landing a few feet away. Naruto's face was schooled emotionless; but the red puffiness around his eyes gave away that he had been crying. His eyes were cold, almost like Itachi.

He looked at them with curiosity. They had never been this cold, even when he had fought him before. It seemed that every time he saw Naruto, those eyes would be a little deader.

He watched as his little brothers love with a hidden fascination. It was not that he hated the boy who had so clearly caught the affection of his little brother; it was more that he enjoyed the feeling he got when he tormented either of them. It was exhilarating. He looked at the boy once more, at that empty look, and smirked. He was moving faster now, avoiding Itachi easily, hardly missing a beat. But one mistake was all he needed. Just one. He watched the calculated moves, the eyes that never left his own, the way Naruto knew his every move so effortlessly; it was almost unnerving. This would grant Naruto respect from anyone who knew the infamous s-class criminal Itachi Uchiha.

They moved for what seemed like hours but was only truly around ten minutes. Itachi began to notice a change in Naruto after the ninth minute and was calculating his next move.

Naruto felt himself slow down. It was very subtle, hardly anything; but he knew that sometimes that little bit made all the difference. His chakra was depleting as it often did when he used this technique; his jutsu was starting to fail and if he didn't release it, it might end up putting him into a coma. This was not good; he let the jutsu slip into nothingness and felt the movements of Itachi speed up; or rather he himself slowed down, not much. Just a little.

He wasn't fast enough to evade what came next. Before he could register what was happening, Naruto was pressed harshly to a tree trunk with dark hair in his face and red eyes staring into his own. He couldn't move his hands; this was due to a vice like grip that held them poised over his head. Somewhere in between movements Itachi had sheathed his katana.

Naruto looked into those eyes. Itachi returned his gaze evenly. He saw…nothing? No, that wasn't it. Perhaps fearlessness? A bit of sadness, he was sure. Naruto was dieing; not a physical death, it was something much more painful. Something was killing his heart (as cliché as that sounded); and if Itachi had to bet, it had something to do with the fox…and his brother.

Naruto knew he was on the verge of being beat; he knew it but he didn't care. Why didn't he care? It was not even that he _didn't _care it was that he _couldn't. _He watched Itachi move and it was only because of Kyuubi that he could do so; though, he could not act upon what he saw. He wasn't fast enough.

He didn't even have enough time to see the next move let alone react to it. In less than a second he was pinned. He wondered vaguely if he would even live through this. His hands were restrained in a vice-like grip while Itachi's knees dug into his thighs to stop the movement of his legs. He watched the face before him in fascination and wondered distantly why Itachi was not wearing his hat (sorry I know they have a name but I don't remember it…so please, those of you who know, inform me and I'll change it…not to mention that it will drive me nuts not knowing!). Had he always left his hair down? Naruto, for the life of him, couldn't remember. He studied the face calmly; his survival instincts, the ones that would have him do anything to make it, failed to take over. In that moment, Naruto knew it was over. And Itachi knew he had won; though he felt dissatisfaction at the fact that Naruto had not given it his all. And he hadn't.

He could find no reason to. Naruto was giving up because he could find absolutely no reason to keep living.

Itachi had one hand holding onto both of Naruto's and the other was in his hair. Naruto had felt it before; who hadn't had someone pull their hair? But this was odd, a bit desperate; like he was getting what he needed from Naruto, or perhaps he was confused.

Itachi was never one to loose his head; he never did. It wasn't natural. So when Naruto discovered this he himself was confused. He looked into Itachi's eyes for a moment but looked away; such an odd mixture of feelings.

Itachi knew what he was feeling; but he didn't want to accept it. He knew Naruto saw it in his eyes too. Itachi was confused that he had lost his cool, emotionless features. And he was angry at being confused. He hated that he was angry because it meant that he lost a little bit of control. He also hated that Naruto, the one he was supposed to be tormenting, was making him loose control. Yes. Blame it on Naruto. It was his fault after all. But some part of Itachi knew that he had made the choice to come to Naruto, not the other way around.

Itachi suddenly felt it. The chakra that was moving his way. He smiled maliciously and the thoughts in his mind turned from his confusion. But Naruto felt the chakra too; and he suddenly realized why he had to live, why he had to keep fighting.

Sasuke stared after Naruto for a moment contemplating going after him. He knew that the others were confused and so was he. He wasn't sure what exactly had just happened.

Naruto had been crying. He had not cried to Sasuke's knowledge since the night that Sasuke had found him on the training grounds. He didn't know what to think.

Had he caused it? Was it something he had done? Had he seen Sasuke's feelings? Did Kyuubi know that he had been dreaming of the blonde the night before? After all, Naruto did have the senses of a fox and he could have smelled the arousal on Sasuke.

But the real question was: did he go after Naruto or not? He would not feel comfort again until his best friend and love was by his side again.

His movements were hurried. The rest of the team wanted to follow, to ensure that Naruto was all right, but he shot them a warning glare. He wanted Naruto to tell him what was wrong. But that wouldn't happen with the others there.

They understood this; well most of them did. Neji started to go after him but a pale hand on his shoulder stopped him. Gaara looked at him with calm green eyes.

"Sasuke needs to talk to him alone. If you interfere it will only make it worse. You and I both know that if Sasuke cannot help him then no one can. It is as simple as that." Neji's eyes looked troubled but he nodded. He had never heard Gaara speak so many words ever, let alone all together, but he said nothing. There was nothing to say as they waited, some patient, some impatient, for the return of the two missing members of the group.

Sasuke was traveling at a speed that was near his limit. He noticed the trail that Naruto had left. He was being careless and it gave Sasuke a bad feeling.

The Uchiha was moving silently through the trees, effectively evading every branch and leaf. He could hear the noises around him or rather, could not hear them because of the lack of noise. The quiet whisper of wind was the only noise. He would have to be quick in finding Naruto. The akatsuki were near. He could feel it.

A/N: well…CLIFFY!!! Yes I am a sadistic bastard…Oh well at least it was longer! I am sorry about taking so long though...but I could use some more reviews! All authors need reviews:D


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Well I had hoped to get this out sooner, but oh well. Things don't always go as planned.

**Warning: this chapter has some sexual content. Also it is yaoi…if you hadn't already guessed…**

**Disclaimer: of course I don't own Naruto…are you crazy!?! But it would be awesome…**

CH.13

Naruto stared into the eyes of his captor. They were captivating. Blood red with black pinwheels. He wanted to reach out and caress that pale, smooth skin. That face that resembled Sasuke so much. He wanted to stroke that fine, obsidian hair. But his body was pressed securely to a tree with his hands pinned in one of the other's stronger and more experienced hands.

The thought made him shiver. He was strong, yes, but this man was stronger still. He felt the wrongness in it but couldn't seem to force himself to even struggle against this foe. It was as if his body would not respond.

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened.

_Crap! _ He tried to move his head to the side but it refused to move. _I really can't move…_

Itachi smirked; it was nothing big, in fact one had to be an expert at reading small details to know exactly what it was; but it was there. And Naruto saw it.

_No…he couldn't have…_Naruto looked at the man a moment, contemplating whether or not he had had time to activate the Sharingan's paralyzing jutsu. He was sure that he would have seen the black pinwheels move with the activation. But apparently he hadn't. How typical.

Naruto could only watch as the oldest of the last Uchiha moved closer to him. He could feel as the body pressed against him; after he had removed the cloak off of Naruto it was a much easier task. It was frustrating not being able to do anything against this beautiful fiend, because he was indeed beautiful.

Itachi's face was mere inches from Naruto's and they could feel each other's breath on their faces; Naruto's short and quick in anxiety of Itachi's purpose, Itachi's slow and steady, calm but still smirking. He moved as close as they could be without their lips actually touching.

"Sasuke's _mine._" It was a simple enough, like the babblings of a toddler; but there was something behind it.

Naruto shuddered. His muscles still would not obey his commands. He focused again on Itachi's eyes as they stared into his own. In a movement that seemed to be faster than anything, Itachi was pressed flush against Naruto with his lips devouring Naruto's. It caused Naruto to gasp, giving Itachi passage to the deep cavern of his mouth.

Then Itachi's knee came out of nowhere, pressing into Naruto's groin. This made Naruto bite back a groan as he closed his eyes, trying desperately not to make a sound, pleasured or not.

He couldn't even control his face. But that was not because of the jutsu…or was it? Perhaps Itachi's jutsu did go that far. But no, Naruto was sure that the jutsu didn't do that. It didn't control the facial muscles. He had been under it before hadn't he? It hadn't happened like this before, had it? No, it hadn't.

Naruto could still feel the presence coming steadily toward them. It was familiar, but Naruto was too distracted at Itachi's ministrations to figure out exactly who it was. Perhaps it was Sasuke, coming to save his ass once again.

Itachi had released Naruto's wrists and was now running a hand down Naruto's body. He had started at Naruto's collarbone, running down his hard pecks; through the thin black shirt he could feel Naruto's nipples, hardened a little against the cold. He pulled his mouth away from Naruto's so that he could hear the moans he was extracting from the blonde. He instead moved down the chin, then up to the ear. He whispered into it with a threatening voice.

"_Mine. _He is _mine_." They were merely a hiss, the whisper of a snake, because that was what Itachi was, a snake. He was furtive and lethal but blunt and audacious when he felt that it was necessary. A snake. It went through Naruto's head more than once as he tried to hold onto his moans and whimpers.

_A snake, he's a snake. That's the only reason he does this to me. The only reason is that he's a snake, _went Naruto's mantra.

He felt the mouth close on his neck and once more tried to bite back all of the noises that it invoked in him. He failed miserably.

"Ungh-no!" he huffed as the lips went lower and the hand reached the hem of his shirt, pulling it up. "Sto-oh mmmgh! St-stop!"

"Ungh!" he was no longer able to form words. The touches to his skin were like fire, running down from the hand that was stroking up his abdomen. He could no longer hold back the loud, guttural moan as nimble fingers twirled over his already erect nipples, first one then the other, and the lips reached his collarbone. He hated that he could not hold it back; there were no words to describe his regret. Sasuke might show up; he might see how useless Naruto really was. That's why…that's why he had to fight this!

**Pathetic…you really are pathetic. Your life is in danger; you're being molested by Itachi Uchiha, mass murderer and s-class missing nin. And all you can think is that his baby brother will think you're useless? How contemptible. How ridiculous! You really are a dobe like he says! **Kyuubi's voice cut through all of his thoughts with spite. Naruto bit back the fear and hate that the words inspired and focused on Itachi's conduct at the moment.

He was now running his hands over Naruto's lithe body. Caressing his chest with one hand, the other ran, teasingly over the hem of Naruto's pants, tugging lightly at the offending clothing. He watched the blonde squirm, delighted in the noises. He knew that Sasuke would show up soon; he had to. Itachi knew he would have to step it up a bit to get his point across, loud and clear.

He suddenly plunged his hand into Naruto's pants, grasping Naruto's cock. This made Naruto gasp. He threw his head back and screwed his eyes shut as Itachi started to stroke him. He bit his lip to suppress his moan; blood was pouring from it and down Naruto's chin. Itachi saw this and moved his mouth up to the blonde's. His tongue lapped at the red liquid that marred the beautiful face.

Itachi moaned at the taste. It was odd, even to him. He never moaned; neither during sex, nor when he relieved his own sexual tension. He kept the movement of his hand fluid as he moved back down to the collarbone. He sunk his teeth into the golden flesh and felt the blood spill from the wound.

This seemed to drive Naruto even crazier. He moaned something feral and panted at the heat it brought to his now fully erect penis. He could not help that this drove him crazy. It flooded him with thoughts and desires that he could not suppress. That was the one spot that was irresistible. It was in the one place that was supposed to be untouchable unless he deemed otherwise. Itachi had placed a mating mark on Naruto's neck.

Sasuke felt the presence of others near by, but it was hard to pinpoint them. He knew that he was going in the right direction; it was getting closer. He made no sound as he moved through the dense forest. It was quiet around him, as if even nature itself knew something was wrong.

Then he heard it. At first it sounded like a bird with a deep voice. Then it turned into a quiet moan pausing here and there, changing in pitch. Sasuke couldn't exactly figure out why, it sounded pleading, but at the same time it was pleasured.

One thought went through Sasuke's mind. _I'm too late._ This pushed him further and faster.

The first thing he saw was the ebony locks of his brother, trailing down the back of his lean, muscular form. Next he saw the cloak Naruto had been wearing; it was lying a few feet from Itachi's back. A flare of sun burst through the tops of the trees and caught onto something that made his blood run cold.

Flaxen hair and bronze skin. Naruto was standing between Itachi and a thick oak that pressed against his back. He had known it would be like this, but it still tore at his heart to see Naruto in the state he was.

The blonde currently had his eyes squeezed shut and his bottom lip clenched between his teeth, trying to hold back a particularly loud moan; he only managed to turn it into a much quieter growl deep in his throat. Kyuubi was pushing his way through to give Naruto some of the things he was feeling.

The heat was almost unbearable for Naruto, but it was not unlivable. It flowed through the right places that fueled the arousal in him. It was not normal. This was definitely Kyuubi's doing. But he couldn't help that it felt good. Finally he could not hold it back anymore. He threw his head back and let out the most feral, animalistic, lust filled sound he could muster without ripping out his own lungs. He had wanted to suppress it; he really had. But he could not find the strength within him to do so. The sound was chilling to both Uchiha's. But only one found it arousing as well.

Naruto felt the tears spill down his cheeks as he felt the rawness of his throat bring him back to the real world. He could feel the older of the brothers touching him; he could feel his hands all over him, but mostly he could feel the grip that he had on his cock; it no longer felt as tormenting with Sasuke there. But he couldn't understand why he was standing there looking so heartbroken.

Sasuke had learned at an early age how much of a bastard his brother was. He had known and he knew it now, but there was something in the way he now went about his bastardly ways. Something even worse. The moment he had set his eyes upon Naruto as Itachi pleasured him he could feel his heart breaking, tearing, shredding. The look of utter hopelessness on Naruto's face before he had seen Sasuke made him furious. How could Itachi have reduced his beautiful Naruto to that? Then the tears ran. He didn't even think Naruto realized it; and by the distant, almost relieved look on his face, he hadn't.

Sasuke was suddenly right next to them; he had no recollection of ever crossing the distance, but he didn't care. His rage was taking over and the Sharingan was already activated. His blow was aimed at Itachi's head, and it was aimed well. If not for the fact that Itachi was well aware of Sasuke and his movements, he would have his Itachi in the temple and not Naruto in the jaw.

As Itachi left him, Naruto started to fall to the ground, but Sasuke caught him just before he hit. Naruto still could not move and he knew he'd have to drag Sasuke out of here to get him away from Itachi. He would have to defeat this jutsu. He knew it had to be done, but he didn't know how.

He felt his paralyzed body go cold as the heat of Itachi left him. It was as if in that one moment, there was no heat left. Naruto could hardly feel the cold air on his naked back; it was as if it were a ghost of its former self. There was nothing there but the feeling of Sasuke's hands on his skin. It was gentle, almost as if he was porcelain, but it was nice. Then it was gone. Sasuke was moving across that gap between him and Itachi. It was quick and without falter, but it was also unsteady, rage induced. He was angry, very angry.

Itachi knew this too. He was prepared for the onslaught of unorganized, erratic attacks; but that onslaught never came. Instead, it was different. Sasuke disappeared; out of nowhere came the foot. Even with the Sharingan, Itachi could not locate the movements with enough time to react, not without mirroring the movements. So he did just that; his movements were just as fluid as Sasuke's and their quickness was level.

Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. Itachi had Sasuke pinned like he had Naruto.

"Well, well. You have gotten stronger. But I'm still stronger than you. Just so you know, he tastes as good as you do." His voice was serious and his face was stern but in his eyes Sasuke saw that he was mocking him. Sasuke gave a glare that promised death and struggled against the hold. But the words that came next stopped him dead.

"It will be worse next time. He will be hurt." With that he was gone, vanished.

Naruto watched this in a haze. He barely caught any of the exchange. He couldn't move his head, and he was in a position that made it impossible for him to see clearly, so he had to settle for seeing it out of the corner of his eye. Then it was gone; the strain was gone. He felt his muscles react; it was painful. He made a deep growling noise in his throat rather than screaming. But it didn't want this to be it; it got worse for a moment. But it seemed more than a moment and he cried out.

Sasuke was at his side in seconds; he wasn't sure what to do for a moment as Naruto screamed in pain; but after the screaming died down he started to move. He turned Naruto over onto his back after running his hand down his spine. Naruto wasn't sure why he did it but he was glad when it stopped. It sent shivers down his spine and his willpower was fading. When he was on his back he could see the fearful and worried expression on Sasuke's face. He had never seen so much emotion on the man's face. He looked like a child who had just had his favorite toy broken by the neighborhood bully, or a child who had just seen his dog run over. Naruto would have chuckled if his body were not so busy trying to sit up despite the hand that was trying to keep him down.

Naruto looked down at the hand that was on his chest and put his own hand on it; it was a dark contrast to the pale skin that looked softer than it should. He could feel Sasuke's eyes on him even before he met them. He stared into the obsidian abyss and was lost for a moment.

"Sasuke," he said and said man jumped at the sound. They were both painfully aware of the silence that engulfed them. "I'm fine. Let me sit up." His voice was quiet but clear in the hush of the woods around them. Reluctantly, Sasuke complied letting his hand fall to the ground beside Naruto. They still stared at each other as Naruto sat up, unable to break eye contact. Sasuke was the first to speak.

"Are you sure? What happened? And…why did you leave? Are you okay?" despite trying to sound calm and collected the questions came in a rush before he could stop them. Inside he was whirling with all the emotions he was trying to keep from his face. Fear, hate, worry, panic and want were among them. Fear that Itachi would come back. Hate at Itachi for being so sadistic and so strong. Worry that Naruto was all right. Panic that Itachi was going to not only come back, but also come back and hurt Naruto. Want to keep Naruto safe. The want was also to find Itachi and kill him. He was no longer at peace with the way things were as he had been. He had never like things the way they were but he had accepted them because he thought he could never change them. But now, now Naruto was involved. Itachi would hurt Naruto like he had hurt Sasuke…or worse.

Naruto watched the emotions flicker across Sasuke's eyes and waited a moment to answer.

"I'm fine Sasuke. I left because I…Kyuubi was…he was messing with me again. And I just needed to be alone." He sighed, hoping that Sasuke would leave it at that and not ask what happened again because he wasn't sure he could answer without lying to him. He hated lying to Sasuke; it always made him feel horrible. But it seemed that Sasuke didn't want to leave it at that.

"Naruto…what happened?" his voice was stern and serious; though, worry flickered through his eyes once more.

"I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said just as seriously. He stood up grunting, as his body protested the movement.

"What did Kyuubi say this time?" Sasuke said trying to get at least a little information out of the blonde even if it wasn't really what he was after.

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to answer that either. "It wasn't that he said anything."

"What did he do?" Sasuke wanted to know now, almost as much as he wanted to know exactly what Itachi had done to him. It scared him that Naruto was hesitating now. "Naruto…what did he do?"

"It's fine now," he said simply, turning away. He bent down to pick up the shirt Itachi had removed from him. As he slipped it over his head, a silent tear slipped down his cheek only to be soaked up by the dark cloth.

**Oh stop!! You are a pathetic fool. How long will you cry because of this bastard?! He is too good for you!! And you know it too!! So why are you still in love with him?! You know you can never have him!!**

Naruto knew this was true. He knew that Sasuke would never love him. He knew that he was a fool to love the bastard, but he couldn't help it.

"Shut up. Just shut up!!" he mumbled it first; it was barely above a whisper, but it got louder as he talked on. "Get out of my head you fuckin' fox!! Just get the fuck out of my head!!" he held his head in his hands and clenched his hair between his fingers. He hadn't noticed that he was now doubled over and had Sasuke in front of him with his hands on his shoulders.

He was exhausted. He hadn't noticed exactly how tired he really was until now. His eyes were wide and his breathing labored; his nostrils flared and his body shook.

"Just leave me alone," he whispered weakly. "Just let me go." His body went limp and his sight went black. He braced himself for the fall that never came.

"Nar-Naruto!" his shouts went unheard by the unconscious ears as the man before Sasuke toppled forward. He caught him and held him to his chest. "Naruto…what happened to you?"

A/N: ok this story is turning out a bit more angsty than I had planned…but like I've mentioned before…I type what my head tells me to…I have like a whole different personality when I write anything creative…you should read my poetry…oh ya and I'm sorry again for taking so long to update, I got caught up in a few things and it took me a while to write this.


	14. Chapter 14

CH.14

**A/N: Okay, for all of you who are going to yell at me for how long it took me to get this up, I have a few very good reasons. First, I was having computer problems for over two months…no Internet. Then, I was having major writers block along with all the crap I had to do. And I was gone for a week so you can't blame me too much…it wasn't my fault…I swear!**

**Disclaimer: You would know very well if I owned Naruto…that's Sasuke's job**

Only out of natural instinct did Neji's feet touch the trees; his legs were moving out of pure reflex as he soared through them. Gaara was at his right pulling steadily ahead. Kankuro and Temari trailed behind in a bit less of a hurry. Sure, they loved Naruto, he was impossible to not like, but they weren't as close to him as Gaara or Neji and they were both having trouble imagining anything that could hurt him so badly

They had first heard his pained scream less than four minutes before, and when the transmission from Sasuke's communicator came in around three minutes later, they had already been on their way.

His transmission had been simple. He had said all he needed to get his fellow ninja to come to his aid.

The voice had been raspy and it crackled a bit. When the communicator had hissed to life, interrupting the heavy silence, Kankuro and Temari both jumped; though they would deny it to their dying day.

"Captain! I've found Naruto. He needs medical attention; he was attacked by akatsuki and Itachi performed gen-jutsu on him…Sharingan gen-jutsu." Sasuke's voice had been coarse; Gaara suspected that it had been so even without the calloused airwaves.

Neji had answered with a simple "Fuck! We're already on our way," and had pushed his body even faster.

His body flexed at the tension and his muscles rippled from the effort. Gaara saw this, even with the cloak's rippling expanse covering the captain's body, and inwardly he shivered; it was no mystery to him that he found Hyuga Neji attractive; and if Naruto knew, he might have a heart-attack; but he would have to make sure to keep his erratic libido in check. For Naruto's sake.

Gaara watched the man that he was steadily pulling ahead of as his silver eyes twitched; the mask obscured every other feature on his face. His muscles were going to be overexerted by the time they tried to return home if he kept this up. Gaara then decided something; he was going to escort them home. He had not planned on it. In fact, if asked, he would've refuse, but Naruto was hurt and Sasuke, who was still stronger than Neji, would be in even less a condition to fight than Neji, who was exerting himself. That left one option: he would send Kankuro home to fill in for him and he would keep Temari with him. Under normal circumstances, he would send Temari as well but she had not seen her lover for some time and he was tired of her complaining that they never went on missions to fire country. Her excuse was that she wanted to visit Naruto and everyone else, but he knew otherwise. She did not know that he knew of her relationship with Nara Shikamaru, but he did.

His own motion was fluid as he leapt through the trees a bit ahead of the others and he looked at the limbs ahead of him.

Sasuke lifted Naruto's lean, muscular form in his arms and pulled him closer. Despite his lithe figure, Sasuke was quite strong. He was taller than Naruto, yes, but his build was much more feminine. Naruto had grown into a very attractive man, with his same golden hair and sapphire eyes, tanned skin and whisker-like scars. His body was flawless; Sasuke had noticed when he had caught him and held him in his arms. He reveled in the warmth as he carried the unconscious blonde in the direction of the others. After his transmission to them, he had picked up Naruto's cloak and the mask that he found a few feet away. He wrapped the cloak around Naruto and tied the mask to his belt. His hands were steady and his breathing level, but he was struggling to keep his heart at an even beat.

With his arms laden with the almost welcome burden, Sasuke made his way towards the steady, familiar chakra that he could sense coming closer and closer. His pace was slow and careful, but he was up in the trees and his body moved at the pace of an average chunin (1). As soon as he saw the first flash of red hair, Sasuke gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief. He had been worried for some time that they would be attacked again. He was in no condition to fight any of the akatsuki. Under normal circumstances, he could defeat any of them save Itachi, but not now; now he was tired, worn, raged, and a bit unstable. He knew he was unstable; it happened from time to time. When he was really angry or upset it would surface and bad things would happen; but Naruto always calmed him when it came about. Was always there. But he wasn't this time and he had to deal with it by himself.

Gaara was first in line. Then came Neji, Temari and Kankuro. Sasuke glared at them wearily; he knew it wasn't their fault and he wasn't blaming them. But he needed to glare at someone.

Gaara understood this; Neji didn't. He turned his head to the side and scowled. Sasuke noticed this and gave a very slight smirk. The man was pouting. Sasuke could see it, even through the mask. Gaara caught this as well and in his head he was grinning like he never had before. He thought it was cute. _Wait! No! Not cute…anything but cute…_

His eye twitched and he turned from the man who was normally so composed. He looked at Naruto and his disarray. His body was less battered than it could have been, but he knew that Naruto would not be right in his mind for a while. The Sharingan was ruthless when it was used in battle; Gaara knew from experience exactly how merciless Itachi was.

Neji watched anxiously as Sasuke reluctantly let Kankuro look at Naruto's minor wounds; there was nothing he could do for the major damage but at least it would be less to worry about.

They again came to the unanimous decision that they were to head back to the leaf village.

"Kankuro, you're to go back to Sand. Fill in for me while we escort them back to Leaf. Tell Sanji at the gate to put up extra patrol and be on the watch for akatsuki," Gaara barked at the nin suddenly, catching him completely off guard.

"But Gaara…you're sending him alone?" Temari asked with a shaky voice.

He sighed at this. "Yes. I'm sending him alone. You're coming with me."

"But what if he's attacked? I mean…I don't think it's wise to send him alone."

"Have a little faith Temari. He's not completely useless; after all, he is my brother." Gaara smirked at the looks on his siblings' faces.

"Umm…Gaara? Are you alright?"

"Why Temari, you seem a bit…surprised." He was positively grinning by now. Even Sasuke was eyeing him like you would a mass murderer; and in fact he was, or had been.

Neji looked at him through his mask with a calculating look. What was wrong with this guy? Was he really that insane? If he was, would they really want him to be Kazekage?

No.

'_So it's simple then. He's not insane; he's just acting. Well he's a damn good actor…' _Okay so him and Gaara had very little in common. But that meant nothing. Neji still could not help but want to know a little more about the man before him. He couldn't say why; it was just an instinct that told him to be closer to the man. His eyes suddenly met jade and he turned away. Why was he so nervous? Well…he had been staring at the man.

Gaara smirked. He had felt the eyes on him for the last few minutes. The others had left him alone after he had stopped acting like a maniac and Neji had tuned them all out after the first few jabs at Gaara's sanity. Neji was now staring resolutely at the forest around them. He was sure he was blushing. His left eye twitched for the third time in the last hour. What where these people doing to him! He was a Hyuga for Kami's sake (2)! His eyes twitched again at the thought.

'_That's it! I'm going mad! How does this always happen to me!?! Ok so I don't really go mad all the time…but close to it! It's this damn team! I swear!'_

Gaara's eyes hadn't left him as he lost himself to thought again. He really needed to get laid. A thought crossed Gaara's head as he watched the captain signal his team, Gaara included, to move out. Kankuro went in the opposite direction. Was he blushing? He could feel the embarrassment radiating off of the Hyuga as easily as if he had no mask on.

"God Neji…what's got you so worked up?" the voice was raspy and all eyes turned to the blonde in Sasuke's arms. He had refused to let anyone else carry him. Naruto's blue eyes stared at the raven-haired man in question. He smirked as Neji's left eye twitched once again.

"Naruto!" Sasuke looked positively relieved that his partner was awake.

The man stared up at Sasuke with an odd look in his eyes. Why was Sasuke carrying him like this? Sasuke currently had his left elbow under Naruto's knees and his right arm behind his shoulders. Bridal style. Naruto's eye twitched at the realization. He both liked and hated the position he was in; and Sasuke realized the later. It was as if he just realized the awkwardness of the position. His eyes widened a fraction and it let Naruto know that he had just realized it. He nearly dropped him but managed to prevent it. And suddenly Naruto was on his back, clinging to his neck. He couldn't figure out how Sasuke had done it. His face was blank for a second. "What the fuck!" he cried. "Don't ever do that again! I swear I will strangle you Sasuke!"

"So you plan on having him carry you like that again?" Gaara inquired. His face was blank and his voice even. He knew that neither of them had wanted to give up that position, but neither of them knew that the other shared his wants.

"What! Gaara you know that's not what I meant!!" Naruto was trying desperately to hide his blush. But Sasuke couldn't see it so he wasn't too angry.

Gaara smirked and turned to Neji. "We should head out." Neji nodded in response and signaled for the rest to move out…again.

…**Three hours later…**

They were making horrible time. They had stopped four times since they had first started out that morning. Once because of Naruto. That had taken almost half an hour. Then when Naruto had woken up. That one was only about ten minutes but it was still a waste of time. Then another time because Naruto had to pee and had threatened to do it on Sasuke if they didn't stop. Neji then wondered if Naruto really had grown out of his nuckleheadedness. Of course Sasuke had said that he would drop him if he did and an argument had ensued successfully wasting more time than necessary. That had taken about fifteen minutes. The last was necessary. Neji had sensed movement and halted the group. They had all sensed it except Naruto, who had fallen asleep.

They had stopped and Neji used his byakugan to locate the movement. He could see three bodies. They were ninja; he could tell by their chakra systems. They looked like they were waiting for an ambush. But that was just it. They were defensive not offensive. Who were they? Neji held up a hand for the others to stay but Gaara put his hand on his shoulder before he could leave. It was the look in his eyes that made Neji stop. He smirked and let Gaara do what he needed.

Gaara watched Neji for a moment. There was amusement in those pale eyes. He gave him a sharp look and started to perform a jutsu. Sand leaked out of his gourd and formed just above his head. It swirled for a moment before shaping into an eye. Then it dematerialized. Neji knew the technique; it was legendary. Gaara's famous third eye.

Gaara's left eye was closed as his eye traveled the fifty or so feet through the forest. He reiterated what he saw to Neji quietly.

"Three of them. All men, all in jounin uniforms. All in leaf headbands."

"Leaf? Why would they be out here? We were informed that there were to be no missions in this area," Sasuke put in quietly.

"Yes but there could have been an emergency mission."

"Another has joined them…a missing nin…from the leaf village." Gaara whispered in the quietest voice he could manage.

"His description?" Neji was nervous now. What if it was Hakure? What would they do? They were short their strongest teammate and their second strongest was carrying him. Gaara was strong, but he wasn't as strong as Naruto. And what about Neji? He was exhausted too. Temari was strong, but she wasn't as strong as Gaara, who was weaker than Naruto, who wasn't conscious (what a mouthful! (3)).

"He's taller than the others, maybe six foot. Platinum hair, black eyes."

"Are we screwed or what?"

All four jumped at the sound of Naruto's voice.

"Why's that?" Gaara asked calmly.

"Because Souri Hakure was the third strongest captain in the anbu. In my full strength, I can barely beat him if we are using strictly tai-jutsu. He's faster than Lee-san and though he can't get through my defense, I can't get through his either. But my attacks are a little more conservative on my chakra."

"Oh, and don't forget how clever he is," Naruto put in.

Neji gave him a warning glare but said nothing. Gaara dissipated his jutsu, letting the sand came back to his gourd. "Well, we do have a problem don't we. What do you propose we do, Hyuga-san?"

"Come on! We've got to hurry."

No one had expected Naruto to speak, but when he did, there wasn't too much surprise.

"We have to go. Now!" Naruto snapped. "Captain! Are the men dead? I hate to say this but…" Naruto stopped at the look on the other's faces. They looked bewildered. "Look, there's no time for me to be sentimental here! We have to move. I have no doubt that Hakure has sensed our presence, even when it is masked. I can't…I can't hide my chakra quite as well as the rest of you can. Even if it's depleted quite a bit, I can't help that Kyuubi has a distinct signature. If he's here, he's more than likely to have a partner; they always do. And Itachi was close enough. I…I couldn't face Itachi again, especially not in this state. Neither could Sasuke, and your chakra is low and your body exhausted, Captain. Gaara may be a match for _one_ of the akatsuki, but Temari, most definitely, is not. I suggest we move." The look on Naruto's face startled them. He was so serious, but his eyes gave a small flicker of fear that was only seen by the captain and the Kazekage.

None of them understood it. He had used to be so brave. He had never backed down from a fight, even if he was clearly outmatched. Especially if someone else was in danger. But Neji knew the same as Naruto; the ninja were dead anyways.

Neji gave a quick nod and signaled them to wait a moment while he scouted the area with his byakugan.

They weren't sure why, but it felt impertinent that they be quiet now, more than ever, even if they were not close enough to the clearing to be heard.

Neji gasped and looked in several directions before he gave a few signals to the others. They had been taught how to do this as chunin and it came naturally on their missions. The first signal was for them to be alert, a closed fist, thrust to the right. The next came a few seconds later after a quick second scan of the area. His palm was flat, facing the forest floor far below their feet's, giving the signal that it was clear. He made the motion for them to move with a deft flick of his wrist.

However, before any of them responded to this order, a smooth chuckle was heard echoing throughout the trees.

"Well I'll-be-damned (3)! If it isn't Anbu Team 11 and it's captain, the Hyuuga boy. But you seem to have lost a few members and gained a few sand ninja…" his voice was overly cheery and sent chills crawling down their spines.

Naruto felt himself drifting towards sleep again, but he pushed his mind to stay conscious and his eyes to stay opened.

"Souri Hakure, traitorous trash and scum of the earth. I guess its fate that we are the garbage men. But we wont put you in a bin. But Ibiki might…after he's done with you that is…"

"Not nice, not nice at all, fox boy…but I don't suppose I could expect that from the Kyuubi's vessel, now could I?"

Naruto said nothing to this but Sasuke could feel his body tense and his breath hitch.

"Ah…and I see you're injured as well. I'm guessing that that's Itachi's doing?" after a pause he continued. "No matter. I'll take you all out before he even gets here…"

"No, you won't." every one of them recognized the voice. It was deep and smooth and held no emotion at all. Two out of the group that now consisted of seven shivered and felt a flicker of fear and panic accompanied by rage.

"Awww…come on Itachi, can't I have my fun?"

A/N: Okay…so I'm not really sure I like this one. It was a little confusing for me and very hard to write. It took waaay too long! By the way, did I mention I was sorry? Anyways, here's all my explanations for this chapter:

**You know very well that they weren't "average" chunin. Lee, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji were all really really fast!**

**Kami means god…I think…**

**This one's for all of you who had a bit of trouble with that…even I had trouble when I read over it! Okay so here it goes: Naruto's strongest, then comes Sasuke, after that is Gaara and then Neji. Temari is obviously the weakest. **

**I'll-be-damned is an expression that I use all the time and for those of you who don't know what it means, its an expression of astonishment basically.**

**If you had any trouble with this chapter or if you have any suggestions for revisations…tell me!!! Please! This chapter had me utterly fluserated! (That is not a real word...I KNOW!! But it's the perfect word for how I feel)**


	15. Chapter 15

Ch A/N: Okay so this chapter is short. And I do mean short. But at least I'm updating…It has been WAY too long since that has happened…I apologize to all the people who actually read my story since I last updated…and before. I sort of lost interest for a while. But thanks to a wonderful (single, I might add) reviewer, I decided to get this chapter up. Hopefully I'll be able to keep going on it.

**Chapter 15**

"You're no fun," Souri pouted in jest, not even turning to look at Itachi. He stared at Naruto for a second, and then switched his gaze to Sasuke. Both were too busy staring at Itachi to even take notice of Hakure. Naruto's gaze held a large portion of fear but Sasuke's held pure panic…and rage.

"What the fuck are you doing here Itachi?"

"My dear little brother…must you be so brash? I'm not here for you, don't you see? You're nowhere near as useful as Naruto-kun." There was amusement in his eyes as he stared straight into the eyes of the fox-demon vessel. He saw the fear and he also felt it from Sasuke as well, but from him, it was different. It was more vengeful…and controlled. He couldn't understand. The boy's eyes flickered to the back of Sasuke's head for a moment, and pain flashed into his eyes, before he returned the gaze to Itachi. Ah…now he understood. He shook his head in disapproval. "My little Naruto-kun…I do believe I feel betrayed. How could you even think such a thing? Don't you know that Sasuke belongs to me? But then…so will you…soon enough." He looked highly amused as the fear in Naruto's brilliant eyes turned to a near panic, almost eclipsing the other emotions.

Sasuke felt Naruto's thighs grip his waist tighter and the arms around his neck clutch each other with a bruising grasp. He also felt it when Naruto started to shake.

"Let me down," came the unsteady whisper in his ear. But Sasuke's hold on his thighs only tightened.

"Sasuke, let me down," he said again, this time steadier and with a hint of agitation.

"But Naruto, are you strong enough?" Sasuke's voice cracked slightly.

"Just put me down," he snarled. He hadn't meant for Sasuke to be on the receiving end of his anger, but he was, perhaps, too protective. After a moment of hesitation, Sasuke complied, setting Naruto's feet on the branch below them.

Neji stood looking agitated and confused. What did Itachi mean when he said that Sasuke was his…and Naruto would be soon? Did he mean physically? Sexually? Or maybe it was mentally…He felt his head start to throb at the confusion. He glanced at Gaara. His expression was unreadable and his eyes flickered to return the gaze for a second.

"Come on Itachi, I haven't had a decent fight in ages. Not since I sparred with Kisame…and that was only because I let him use Samehada and barred myself from using Garou-Ittou." He locked eyes with Neji for a moment before he smirked. The eyes of the weary Hyuga didn't react. He was very good at keeping his emotions in check. But his body was tense. Gaara could see it and so could Hakure. Naruto and Sasuke were too focused on Itachi to even care. But Neji—Neji knew what the Garou-Ittou could do. The sword was the strongest he had ever seen. It was more powerful than Kisame's and most of the swordsmen he knew combined. The sword absorbed the chakra in the air, ejected from breathing, sweating, or otherwise, and used it as fuel, along with Souri's own chakra.

Naruto took a deep, calming breath, knowing that it would not do to go into a battle, as weak as he was, with his emotions flared. Sasuke was fine for the moment, and the others, though in unimaginable danger, were not hurt. His eyes took on a calm rage that only comes with years of practice. The torrential blue turned the color of a sea just before a hurricane.

He was glad that Temari had not said anything. The girl had a smart-ass attitude and could easily piss off anyone she spoke to.

"Well…isn't this fun." But perhaps he had spoken too soon.

Tsunade stared at the two kunoichi, who looked haggard and out of breathe. Her golden eyes were narrowed in discontent.

"And you're sure of this?" Her voice was stern, and her face stony, but a twitch in her lips revealed her displeasure to the present ninjas. She heard her door open, but kept her eyes on the two anbu in front of her. They were the best of the best, the most skilled, and most respected, save the Hunter Nin. But most in the anbu did not wish to be Hunters. Hunters had no lives, only those they used to serve the village. Anbu had a bit more freedom, and plenty of time off when they needed it. But it was possible that her Anbu were in trouble. The pair had told her that the Kazekage was in their midst, along with his two siblings, but was that enough against the Akatsuki? The team was overly exhausted, from what Sakura said, and Itachi had done _something_ to Sasuke when the information had been received. Perhaps it was time for her to send out a team to retrieve the group. But if her best Anbu team was in trouble, who could she send? The hunter's were all on duty, and none of the upper level jounin were even close to a match to any of the Akatsuki. Perhaps Jiraiya? He would probably go if she asked him, but that wasn't the problem…the ever-elusive Sannin was almost impossible to find if he was being unapproachable. So many years of fleeing the wrath of women had made him good at it too.

She sighed. This was going to prove difficult.

**A/N: Okay! So it's been a very long time since I've updated…very long indeed. But I don't plan on taking that long again. I've started a few new ones that have taken my attention from this one…though unfortunately my ideas are hard to put onto paper sometimes. I know where they're going; I just don't know how to get there. **

Garou-Hungry Wolf Ittou-Blade

(Yes, I know it's a little weird, but I couldn't think of anything else.)


	16. Author's note

**A/N:Alright people...so this is a little hard for me, but it has to be done. I've read it over...and desided that I hate it...I have completely lost interest in it and I may never write another chapter. Basically, if I keep this fic, it will never be finished. So, I am giving it away. Anyone who wants to finish it, and promises me that they **_**will**_**, can have it. If multiple people want it, I have no problem with that. Message me and I'll put up another note, giving the authors' profiles...That'll give all the people who actually read it multiple endings, in multiple writing voices. So, message me if you want to adopt it...I will keep it on my profile, but again, I'll post the adoptee's in another author's note.... **


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